retired_bbcarr

cheers, george

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“You look like you enjoyed the sun.”

“Two weeks on a beach with nothing to do. It’d have been better if you weren’t on the mobile every ten minutes, Freddie, but I’ll forgive you.”

“”You asked me to keep you informed.”

“Where do we stand?”

“James Milner’s gone to Wigan. Frank Hoffman’s gone to Unterhacinh, that brought us in half a million. Edgar Davids, Mario Melchiot and Steve Finnan have all left now their contracts have expired. And we’re talking to Real about Shaun.”

“How much?”

”Twenty-two million.”

“That’d be brilliant.”

“You realise you’ll get lynched if we sell him? The fans love him.”

“We need a clearout. How much do Chelsea get?”

“Four and a half. So we’ll clear over seventeen, all of which you can spend.”

“And sixty grand off the wage bill.”

“It’s all down to you now, bring in who you want.”

The meeting with chairman Freddie Shepherd had been something I wasn’t particularly looking forward to on my return from Bermuda, but with the wage bill now well under control, the disruptive elements of the squad all but gone and plenty of cash in my transfer kitty, I was ready to get on with moulding my new squad.

With Shay Given nearing his last legs, I wanted some competition for his spot, and found it in the shape of Kasper Schmeichel at Manchester United. Clearly not as good as his father, the twenty-two year old Dane was brought in for just over half a million which looked like a hell of a good price for a Premiership quality ‘keeper.

I didn’t feel my defence needed too much tinkering with, I was more concerned with the midfield and attack, though even I was a bit unsure about Derek Riordan. He cost just north of three million pounds and West Brom’s substitute bench but had been a regular and quality performer for Scotland and I was willing to take the risk.

A deal for Canadian defensive midfielder Julian de Guzman to join from Deportivo at the beginning of August when his contract expired was quickly wrapped up, taking advantage of his Spanish passport, and my budget was spared again when we picked up Chris Burke for free after he was released by Rangers. Romeo Castelen would no doubt be my first choice right winger, but with Wright-Phillips gone, Chris would provide good solid backup.

retired_w0lfpack1

Terk, congratulations on your third FMSer of the Year at this year's FMS Awards 2007, and also on Best Story Character for Stephen Beckett - truly one of the brilliant tales and characters on the forum, this, and deserving of every honour, in my opinion.

As I said in e-mail, this is one of the stories which really made me want to be affiliated with the forum, and inspired me to start on Blade. KUTGW, my friend!

retired_bbcarr

Thanks for the very high praise, Amaroq. Stephen is the first character I've invested real time and effort in on FMS, so it's nice to know that he's found an audience. And there's plenty more to come from him yet.

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“If we get to the final it’s five games before the league starts. I want to use them as pre-season. If we arrange friendlies as well, the boys’ll be knackered by October.” I really saw that as the only benefit of the Inter-Toto Cup, that it might provide us with slightly more competitive warm-up games for the league season. Obviously there was the holy grail of a UEFA Cup place, but that was less important to me than making sure the players were fit and ready for the Premiership campaign.

We had been drawn against Hungarian side MTK for our entry into the competition, with a semi-final against either Dortmund or Real Sociedad waiting should we win through. I’d never been to Budapest, and had little chance to take in much of the city this time, but when István Balogh put the home side in front from the penalty spot on five minutes, I began wishing I’d stayed away from the ground and just done some sight-seeing.

A few of the new lads were making their debuts as we went with a 4-5-1, and the most impressive of them was Magne Hoseth. Given a one year deal to prove he had come back well from his broken leg, the Norwegian quickly began to run the game for us, and though it was Steven Taylor who set up Shola Ameobi for the equaliser, Hoseth had a big part to play in the winner, his perfectly weighted corner finding Antonio Barragán free at the back post and the Spanish right back headed past Gábor Babos.

There was a week between the two legs of the match, a week in which I let Joaquim take much of training as I took Hannah to Rennes to collect the last of my belongings. We stopped off quickly at the training ground to say a few final goodbyes, and it became clear that the new management thought little of some signings I had made for the club. Nicolas Puydebois had won the number one shirt back off Scott Carson whilst I appeared to be the only manager in world football who rated Lassana Diarra. I said my goodbyes, but I knew I’d made the right decision and I was happy to drive out of Rennes for the final time.

The visit of MTK to St. James’ Park attracted over forty-thousand fans, a reminder if ever there was one that this city really was football-mad. Even for what was essentially a pre-season friendly, they would turn out in strong numbers. Romeo Castelen came in on the right wing for Wee Chris Burke, and the Dutchman immediately showed why he should be first choice on the right flank. Since his arrival at the club, he had failed to find the net, but in the first eleven minutes of this match, he’d bagged a hat-trick. The first two were scrambled efforts as the ball ping-ponged around the MTK penalty area whereas the third was a wonderful solo strike that would rightfully grace any goal of the season competition. But to me as much as anyone, Romeo Castelen had announced his intentions in undeniable style.

retired_bbcarr

“****. We’ll have to go to a back three then.”

“You could play Stranzl there.”

“No. We’ll go three five two. Just hope to buggery it works.” Our problems had been caused by the lack of a left back. Ernst was away with the German under nineteen side at the European Championships and Raul Bravo had limped out of Tuesday’s training session with a torn groin muscle. It would be a stretch to ask Micolae Mitea and Chris Burke to perform as wing-backs, but needs must.

The wins over MTK had actually got me thinking about a place in the UEFA Cup, rather than just seeing the games as unimportant pre-season run-outs. Playing an unfamiliar formation against a strong Dortmund side, however, would put us right to the test. We began unsteadily, the lads were unsure of where they should be on the pitch, but defensively we held strong until everyone figured out what they were supposed to be doing. In the second half we were even the better team, Mitea patrolled up and down his flank causing problems for the Dortmund defence, but neither side could find a breakthrough, and we had to settle for a stalemate going into the second leg.

Despite the relative success of the change in formation, and not falling to defeat could only be described that way after such makeshift preparations, I felt I had to bring in reinforcements. Ernst would be back from his Championship exertions soon, and in the scheme of things the four weeks Bravo would miss weren’t that much, but there was still money to spend and I resolved to use it on a short-term option at left back.

Quickly my mind turned to Rennes, and more specifically, Swiss full back Alain Rochat. Rennes were asking only two million euros, and Alain was willing to sign a deal for only one year – and to accept that he would be far from first choice – and once the quick negotiations were completed, we got his registration through in time for him to travel with us to Germany.

A tired René Ernst made the trip with us as well, after getting Germany to the final of the under nineteen championships in Spain, he was drafted straight into the starting line-up against Dortmund in our more familiar 4-5-1 with Rochat taking a place on the bench. We got off to a terrific start, Ernst playing Charisteas in for the Greek to fire past Charles Itandje. We continued to prove we were the better side throughout the first half, and on the cusp of the interval, doubled our lead when Ameobi flicked a ball on for Hoseth to strike into the roof of the net.

We knew a third would kill the game off, and we always looked like getting it. By the seventy-ninth minute Dortmund could hold out no longer, and Castelen – enjoying far more his regular position further up the pitch – swung in a cross for Ameobi to bundle in at the back post. Job done and a place in the final beckoned. Only, swtiching off, even with a three goal lead, against a side as good as Dortmund is asking for trouble. With nine minutes left, Maris Verpakovskis drilled a shot past Shay Given from twenty yards, and two minutes later, Swedish frontman Marcus Rosenberg rose highest to head home a corner and pull them within one. They might have got it as well had it not been for Eric Wienke’s over exuberance. A cynical challenge on Mitea bought the German his second yellow card of the night and as he trudged off the pitch, so too did Dortmund’s chances of an incredible comeback.

retired_bbcarr

July 2009 Results

(All Inter-Toto Cup)


MTK 1 – 2 Newcastle (Third round, 1st leg)
(Balogh pen 5”; Ameobi 12”; Barragan 32”)

Newcastle 3 – 0 MTK (Third round, 2nd leg)
(Castelen 2”, 4”, 11”)

Newcastle 0 – 0 Dortmund (Semi-final, 1st leg)

Dortmund 2 – 3 Newcastle (Semi-final, 2nd leg)
(Charisteas 8”; Hoseth 45”; Ameobi 79”; Verpakovskis 81”; Rosenberg 83”; Wienke s/off 86”)

retired_bbcarr

Apologies for the lack of recent updates

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The biggest adjustment that was needed to life in Newcastle was simply the fact of living with someone else once more. There was no doubt that I had felt lonely during my time in France, but at the same time I had become used to there being no one around when I got back from the club of an evening, there being no one to have to relay my day to.

Complaining was the last thing on my mind, however. The excitement of a new relationship and the relief that we were finally back together left a pretty permanent smile on my face. Come the end of my working day I couldn’t wait to get back home, and I was in no rush for that feeling to end.

--

“I still want a new striker, Freddie.” Talking to the chairman on the drive back from Blackburn, a game in which two of my strikers had helped us to a three goal win in the first leg of the inter-toto final, was perhaps not the best of times, but I felt it could wait no longer.

“We brought in Riordan.”

“I want to use him off the bench, as an attacking midfielder.”

“Chopra and Shola scored tonight.”

“But they’re not going to score against the likes of Liverpool and Man Utd. They’re not good enough to take us forward.”

I hadn’t spoken to Freddie Shepherd between the Blackburn and Aston Villa matches. The chairman had let me get on with preparing the team for our league opener at St James’ Park. With Julian De Guzman and Jesus Navas ready to make their debuts a week after finally joining the club, we had six in the starting line-up who would be making their first league appearances in a Newcastle shirt.

Whatever plans I had in place for the day were undermined, however, by a strikeforce who seemed intent on proving my theory that they needed replacing. Throughout the ninety minutes we carved out plenty of chances, Navas (before leaving the scene with a sore neck), Hoseth and Mitea were creating space and playing balls which any striker would love, but neither Ameobi nor Chopra could even find the target, let alone make Thomas Sørensen work for his money.

So it was hardly surprising that Juan Pablo Angel netted the only goal of the game. The Colombian had been prolific for Villa in their previous campaign, and seemed determined to prove that it wasn’t a one-off. He stole in behind the defence and rolled a shot underneath the advancing Shay Given ten minutes after half-time and the crowd, just shy of fifty thousand, went home with a poorer opinion of me for it.

I had been called into the chairman’s office in the aftermath of the game, once I’d spoken to the players and told them no to be too down on themselves, that it was only one game, I trudged upstairs, anticipating that I was about to face some unpleasant music.

“We think we’ve solved your striker problem.”

“That’s nice to hear.”

“We’ve struck a deal with his club and he’s flying in to meet you this week, probably Tuesday or Wednesday.”

“Who?”

“Samuel Eto’o.”

retired_milissac

Brilliant story Terk. Keep it up. I don't care that you haven't updated revently as long as you keep delivering the quality posts. KUTGW

retired_bbcarr

cheers, george

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The deal to bring Eto’o in was touted in the media as £18,000,000, all Freddie would tell me was that they weren’t far wrong. Despite netting over a hundred goals for Barcelona, he had inexplicably been benched at the back end of the previous season, and that had led the Cameroonian to engineer a move away from the Nou Camp. Many would have expected him to join a bigger club than us, but evidently eighty thousand a week was enough to put any such thoughts out of his mind at least.

My initial thought was to put him on the bench for the Saturday morning visit to Blackburn. I have to say though, I was influenced by the media and the fans, both had been baying for him to start since his arrival, and it wasn’t the worst idea they’d ever had. For once, the masses were right in their hysteria. Not only did Eto’o’s performance win him a man of the match award, he bagged a debut goal after just five minutes. Our second came from his work as well, a snap-shot parried by Weidenfeller into Chris Burke’s path and the Scot tapping in.

Unfortunately, the half-time two goal lead wasn’t enough to claim victory. Paul Gallagher netted for the home side in the first sixty seconds of the second half whilst ex-Magpie Kieron Dyer volleyed in an equaliser just after the hour. Eto’o would have won us the match had it not been for a quite fantastic save Weidenfeller pulled out in the last seconds, but we had to settle merely for a point from our travels.

Facing the same opposition four days later was never likely to produce the most exciting of games, but with our three goal lead from the first leg of the Inter-Toto final, I was confident Blackburn couldn’t overturn us. That confidence only grew when Ameobi gave us a third minute lead on the night, and long before full time our place in the UEFA Cup was secure.