The arrival of Big Al has coincided with some more long overdue but great news - the departure of Dennis Wise from his role as Director of whatever! Nobody seemed overly sure exactly what Mr. Wise actually did during his time at Newcastle, but his controversial and utterly mysterious position has thankfully been brought to a halt. He was and never has been popular with Newcastle fans, since his playing days at Chelsea through to the present day. OK, we have signed an array of supposedly talented youngsters from across Europe, but in such testing times this season, surely first-team, proven players were the priority, and Wise did nothing to help us out on this front.
Yes, there were one or two positive signings in perhaps Jonas Guttierez and Bassong, but even so, these very signings undermined then manager Kevin Keegan,and looking at it, you can see why Keegan walked away. Aside from Bassong, the rest are relatively poor signings made by the club through the guidance of Wise. The names Nacho Gonzalez and Xisco spring to mind, whilst the signings of Kevin Nolan, Danny Guthrie, Ryan Taylor and Peter Lovenkrands, all the better signings, had nothing to do with Dennis Wise.
In yesterday's papers, it has been revealed that Wise had not actually spoken to Mike Ashley and co since before January, so just what he has been doing for the past three month's or so, picking up his healthy wages from the club, is quite simply beyond me. With great delight, the board have for once put their manager, Shearer, above the rest involved and quite rightly so. Shearer had actually came out and expressed his worries regarding the club's transfer policies in the past, and has now rubber-stamped his authority with Wise leaving almost immediately after the King's arrival. Once again, thank you Alan!
All comments appreciated thanks.
Oh, and one last thing, for all football fans! I have recently came across a number of vintage football shirts that I have for sale on Ebay, some real classics! Here's the link, I will ship worldwide ;)
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/roblee7
Comments
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Posted by Andre Dixon on 04/06/2009
Great article! We have a very loyal following of Newcastle supporters here in Boston, MA. Every game the TOON ARMY BOSTON heads to our official home at the Banshee Bar to show or true faith amongst the smug supporters of the top 4. There are a great number of us and we are always asked how is it possible for so many to show up for a "crap" team. Well, it is refreshing to find articles such as yours that we can relate to as you clearly understand what we are going through. Thanks again Rob Lee and you are always welcome to have a pint with us!
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Posted by RickNToronto on 04/12/2009
Don't get me wrong, I am not sorry to see the departure.
However, Wise's appointment was intended as "An International approach to Management".
Lest we forget KK had made some dubious acquisitions as a manager and had shown a few "momentary distractions" in his career.
So Ashley's attempt to "allow Kevin more focus" may have been attempt at something more visionary in football operations and make some truly smart -if not Wise- acquistions with limited cash at hand.
Flawed thinking as we all now see and the Board must now see they have to bring Management and the Fans with them before they attempt to impose such intrusive and provenly errant thinking on the Football Club.
As a product of my upbringing I have devided loyalties and felt two whacks with the Wisey move.
Dennis arrival a NUFC had followed a truly bizarre untimely departure at Leeds where he was in charge of an ascendant promotion-challenging team.
Neither side should ever now miss him.
I know I won't.
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Posted by Steve J on 04/13/2009
I'm from Chicago, United States and have been following the Magpies for the last 4 years now. Keep up the good work Rob.
It's about time that Wise left (or was ousted behind the scenes) and I'm very excited to see what Shearer can do at the helm, even if it's just for eight games.
Win or lose, I'll still be doing my best to represent the Toon Army overseas. Hopefully one of these days I can make it to Tyneside and take in a game at St. James' Park.
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Marc Duffy is a National Account Manager in the alcoholic drinks industry - a career in alcohol was obviously the natural step after following Newcastle United for all of his 32 years. Marc blames his father for his obsession with Newcastle United - since attending his first game at the age of 4 Marc has endured many ups and downs, and despite the lack of silverware remains positive that a trophy will be won at some point in his lifetime! (Wait, does the Intertoto cup not count?) Follow Marc on Twitter @MarcSDuffy
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