All Northeast relegation combatants can rest assured Manchester United fielded a team that indeed had the strength of beating Hull with nothing more than a mixture of kids and reserves. What will keep Newcastle and Middlesbrough supporters up at night is a dreadful campaign, resulting in all four relegation contenders losing on the season's final day in rather drab fashion. Oh wait, there's more! Sunderland are the ultimate winners in the Premier League's final act, as they can now lay claim to the title of "The Pride of the Northeast", making the Mackems the only supporters in that part of the country to be savoring Premier League football next term. Somewhere out in London, our resident Geordie, Chris, is going to see a man about 12 dogs he lost. Know what I mean? Elsewhere, Robbie Keane's return to Anfield was relegated to nothing more than an intriguing sideshow and Nicolas Anelka can add a Golden Boot to his trophy cabinet.
If you're a United fan, the league season probably ended for you last week after much rejoicing and libations. Dab smack in the middle from an 18th league title coronation on the Old Trafford pitch and a massive Wednesday evening in Rome, was something of a reserves match in the league's final weekend, a match that would go in some way to determine the fates of the relegation battlers. The only downer on the day was the absence of Rio Ferdinand, still recuperating from that calf injury, and given that Fergie wanted to have Rio have an abbreviated go-round before placing him in the starting XI against Barcelona, makes Rio somewhat doubtful for the big night. Anyway, this was a showcase match for Fergie's least used players (Nani) and a few kids to show the gaffer reasons that they can produce in more meaningful play next season. As for Hull, just survival would do, but given it was still a fairly tough ask to overcome a second-choice United side with their recent collective play and reliance on games elsewhere could be the only elixir to keeping Hull afloat in the top-flight. After an interesting opening for Hull, Darron Gibson scored the only goal of the contest in United's favor on 24 minutes and goodness, was it a wonder strike. Knowing what was going on at Villa Park at the time, Hull played with lesser urgency throughout, and somehow you got the feeling Hull manager Phil Brown should've called in the SAS with that silly headset of his to instill the fear of God into his side. A defeat for Hull ended in relief and celebration from the KC faithful, which ended in Phil Brown taking off that silly headset and leading the Hull supporters into a few choruses of "We're staying up" and an altered chorus of Sloop John B that "this is the best trip I've ever been on". Hull's miraculous ascent to the Premier League is indeed impressive if you've read up on their recent history although the journey they've been on in the league was a lot like seeing a minnow spaceship being locked into a tractor beam in painful slow motion, just about in limbo. I did say at about the halfway mark, Hull secured enough points to stay up, but nearly undid in only recording one league win in their last 22 games. Only in football can mediocrity can be so celebrated with gusto...
...unless your team is Newcastle. A picture might mean a thousand words, but it's moments like these where you can't describe a point in time with a thousand pictures especially when it comes to the reactions of fans. Some of us neutrals get a kick of seeing the priceless facial expressions, mannerisms, and gestures of fans who surely wear their hearts on their sleeves, especially with fans who have for lack of a better term, experienced massive trauma following their teams. It's the reason why the Fox Sports cameras turn to some random kid in the stands, sporting either a Chicago Cubs or Boston Red Sox shirt, which actually irks me with the frequency of how it's done. It's human nature to be curious of how others feel when they're in a certain situation, for better or for worse, and even I get caught up in it at times. Simply, there's a fascination in seeing how people react to their team not only taking a loss that ends their season, but knowing that the club's defeat is a damning fate that isn't felt in most sports. A number of my friends here Stateside are naturally more enamored by the idea of relegation when they're exploring the world of club football because it's so easy to take for granted that no matter how terrible the team you support is, even year in and year out, that they'll be back next season to repeat the whole bloody thing again. No money lost, no further degradation, just reincarnation in the same old cycle of mismanagement and losing shenanigans going relatively unpenalized. There's little room for second chances in club football and the consequence is like a multiple car crash on the freeway (motorway, for you non-Californians), there's bound to be plenty of spectator slowing.
Besides, I needed a picture or two that looks mint for this column. I reckon it's a rather cliche image I chose and I was tempted in posting the Newcastle fan who dressed as a nun on Judgment Sunday, but I supposed no one would know what I was referring to. At any rate, those two Geordie lads on the left have that brand-spanking new home kit which I raved about a few weeks ago, and said it would be a shame to see Newcastle relegated, only because the shirt will be bastardized with Football League badges and printing. Personally, I'm the United fan that's indifferent on Newcastle's fate, as opposed to some United fans who would've loved to see Shearer's ego take a hit with him jumping aboard a sinking ship and henceforth, going down with it, but even I'll admit I can't hold back a chuckle about the whole thing.
At any rate, I suppose it was fitting to see Newcastle be relegated by the stroke of misfortune as Aston Villa's only and deciding goal came off a wicked deflection off Damien Duff and into Steven Harper's net. Like Hull, Newcastle were off to a lively beginning on the attack, but played with much less convinction even if they had an inkling that Hull were bound to be without a point in their match with United and the last 10 to 15 minutes was a coming to grips amongst the Toon faithful that relegation beckoned. In all, this was understandably a nightmarish season for Newcastle in about every aspect, from uninspired players, some of whom wanting to get out of Dodge, to the lack of stability in management on and off the pitch. It was fitting that the defeat to Villa was essentially a microcosm of Newcastle's campaign in general. I'll talk more in depth about Newcastle in general, as well as my relegation thoughts later, but first thing's first in tying a few untied ends.
In truth, the only relegation spot that wasn't set in stone, was fought out between Hull and Newcastle. The Geordies' other Northeast neighbors, Middlesbrough, needed a minor miracle to stay up and were just about a formality to be sent down. Not only did they have to win against West Ham at Upton Park, Boro needed help in the Hull and Newcastle games to have any chance of beating the drop and what's more, they carried an inferior goal difference. The task was made more difficult with Stewart Downing injured and missing out on the season's curtain call while the same fate befell Marlon King and Jeremie Aliadiere. A languid start on the whole eventually led to the opener past the half-hour mark from the returning Carlton Cole. Five minutes after the halftime interval, Geoff O'Neill gifted Boro an equalizer and a slim lifeline to one small step on their safety mission. Any hopes of a sneak Boro victory were squashed by a Junior Stanislas go-ahead goal about a few minutes from the hour mark. Much like in Hull and at Villa Park, the game was mired in an anticlimax, making this one of the more uneventful relegation races in some time as all four of Hull, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, and Sunderland did their darndest to sleepwalk into the drop zone.
Speaking of Sunderland, all they knew was that they had the best view of the landscape from where they were sitting, as the three other teams in the equation needed big-time help and the Black Cats didn't necessarily need a result should mediocrity further continue for their relegation rivals. This was one of those days Sunderland were praying for one of those freak days not to come, as they hosted a Chelsea side (who didn't feature Frank Lampard, sadly for us fantasy managers) that had enough quality to see them off even if they had an eye toward the FA Cup final this Saturday. Nonetheless, this was to be a nervous day at the Stadium of Light. Relief was in good supply after a goalless first half that was far from uneventful where news trickled in that both Newcastle and Hull were each down a goal at halftime of their respective games. Nerves started to kick in as quickly as the second half arrived when Nicolas Anelka scored off a rebound from Florent Malouda's strike hitting the crossbar, the game's opening goal two minutes into the second half, which gave Le Sulk this year's Golden Boot with a season-high 19 goals, nipping an idle Cristiano Ronaldo for it. Wrong timing on Petr Cech's part gave way to Kieran Richardson capitalizing on a cross, six minutes after Anelka's opener to even the game, 1-1. However, it was Salomon Kalou who had re-taken the Chelsea lead almost 75 minutes in and Ashley Cole wrapped up all three points for Chelsea in the dying minutes, with Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones pulling one back for the fantasy managers who had faith in him finding the net on the league's final day. So, there it was for Sunderland. Relief even in defeat and jubilation that their nearest rivals, Newcastle and Middlesbrough had succumbed to relegation, making Sunderland the only game in the area for Premier League football. Minutes after the match, Sunderland caretaker manager Ricky Sbragia resigned, but that's obviously for another day for the Mackems to mull over about.
Elsewhere from the relegation battle zone, Robbie Keane had a chance at redemption is his return to Liverpool, back clad in a Spurs shirt, and he had the slight chance of lifting Tottenham into Europa League play. Liverpool weren't intent on giving Tottenham a favor as Fernando Torres headed in a Dirk Kuyt cross to give the Merseysiders an opener a half-hour in, Spurs were done in by some bad luck when Yossi Benayoun's shot, which was destined for nowhere, deflected off Alan Hutton to lift Liverpool to 2-nil, 25 minutes from time. Robbie Keane split the offside trap and the Liverpool lead in half, but within minutes, Benayoun put the result beyond doubt as Liverpool finished the year with 86 points, a rather high total for a second-place team, which should by default hand Rafa the only title he's won this year: best second-best Premier League side ever. Fulham and Everton clinched Europa League qualification, but it was Everton getting the better of Fulham at Craven Cottage with a two-goal brace from Leon Osman to keep the Toffees in fifth place at season's end. You think about the injury adversity Everton have been through this year and it makes a fifth-place finish all the more impressive, no matter what happens in Saturday's FA Cup final.
Arsenal demolished Stoke in their season finale at the Emirates, 4-1, thanks in part to an early opening own-goal off the Potters' James Beattie and a two-goal brace from Robin van Persie (including a penalty kick) sealed the deal for the Gooners. This was the first season in a while where RVP remained relatively unscathed, which makes you wonder what he can do on a full bill of health and if Arsenal can get a couple of pieces - especially a holding midfielder - to complement a healthy Cesc Fabregas, RVP will be a fantasy force to be reckoned with. The Dutchman scored 11 goals and set up 10 assists in 28 games, after all, and Andrei Arshavin adds another dimension to the Arsenal attack which was a bit lacking. Again, if Wenger plays a few cards right this offseason, I actually believe it's Arsenal, not Liverpool nor Chelsea, that pose the biggest threat to United with an extra year of maturity under their belts. One of the questions hanging over Arsenal, however, is if Emmanuel Adebayor will be sold or sticking around at the Emirates, which might cloud things a bit. My sentiment remains the same on Arsenal in spite of their inexperience being an issue when you consider Chelsea are sort of turning into an AC Milan (showing a bit of their age) while unless Rafa does something big to address Liverpool's lack of depth (or an additional first-choice winger), Liverpool will be too reliant on Gerrard and Torres once again. Too early to tell who's the best contender to United next year when we're not a foot into the transfer season yet, but simply all Arsenal need is a few places to sneak up on people again.
One thing is for sure and that Manchester City won't be a rising contender if money can't buy Champions League places. It's a minor thing to note but on the last day of last season, City were throttled 8-1 to a Middlesbrough side that has now gotten the drop (rather unexpectedly I'd say). This time around, it was cruise control for the Blues as an early Felipe Caicedo goal was enough to separate themselves from Bolton at Eastlands. Lastly, up the road, Blackburn were held to a goalless draw to West Brom in the Baggies' farewell game before starting next term in the Championship once more.
Anyway, back to my relegation thoughts and 90% of it comprises of Newcastle, and for good reason, because they're the highest-profile team since Leeds to be sent down and compared to both West Brom and Middlesbrough, it's more of an uphill climb back to the top-flight than those two. It's easy for a team like West Brom to take the drop because they're financially structured to brace losing out their Premier League share and what's more, they have players used to Championship football and aren't necessarily to be had for bad contracts. This means the likes of Chris Brunt and James Morrison are more likely to stay at The Hawthorns, knowing they've been in and out of the top flight before. WBA have a stubborn belief to attacking football and back as the big fish of the pond, they should have the relative quality to finish top six for a chance of promotion. The only thing is if West Brom come back to the Premier League a year from now, is if they've learnt their lessons in having to be more flexible - to pull a Stoke job, so to speak, at times - and gut out results, but that's for another day. I also think Middlesbrough, who have been in the Premier League for over a decade until now, are well suited to bounce back up. I've said it countless times, but Boro are a weird team in that they do have decent quality to be a low mid-table side, but they were that team seeking that lightning in a bottle it seems, especially when they lost that knack for the fairly good football they were playing earlier this term. The good news is in past years, Boro have trimmed the fat from their side, and now, their sizable losses really lie in Stewart Downing, Afonso Alves, and Tuncay, all three of whom I think will find places on a Premier League side. As suspect as Gareth Southgate's management may have been on the surface, I think some of it was bad luck and what remains true is he seems to have the galvanizing influence in the locker room, which has been earned and something I think Shearer will have to gradually earn beyond his reputation if he's staying on at Newcastle.
On the other hand, Newcastle, as Alan Shearer said, they have to do quite the cleansing job from top to bottom, on and off the pitch, to get this team back on track in general. Our resident Geordie, Chris, did a whole postmortem on where it had all gone wrong with Newcastle, and for the most part, I think it's spot-on, which doesn't need repeating from yours truly. First thing's first, the players. Simply put, Newcastle failed because the players weren't up for it, for the better part of a year. Say what you will about Newcastle being a team of mostly re-treads like Owen, Mark Viduka, Damien Duff, Alan Smith, and Nicky Butt (I do feel sorry for the latter two, mind you), but this was also a team that had enough to pull their own weight, where safety from relegation was still a remote thought. I thought the signing of Jonas Gutierrez, was a smart one, as he provided a spark and a workrate, and more importantly, a player that can live up to a reasonable transfer fee. The problem is Newcastle didn't make many of these smart signings and often times, they were strapped for cash with bad contracts of players who couldn't find a home in a top quality side anywhere any longer and sought redemption on a smaller, but otherwise respectable stage. This was a club that wanted to take chances on wild cards, namely that Citeh scumbag headcase Joey Barton. Unfortunately, a mixture of raw talent can't come together without the steady hand of a good manager and since Sir Bobby Robson's sacking, there hasn't been a steady manager at the helm. In retrospect, I don't think Sam Allardyce's tenure at Newcastle was so bad, because he's had experience of squeezing the best out of players, but it's just that his approach to the game didn't match the personnel at the time, and in fact, it's quite the opposite from the style Newcastle have played. Changing approaches doesn't necessarily go well with certain players, either in that they know they're being misused or frankly their egoes can't adapt completely. From Graeme Souness and Glenn Roeder to Kevin Keegan and Joe Kinnear, and finally to Alan Shearer, there were just way too many transitions in tactics and personalities from one gaffer to the next in such a short amount of time.
On that point, the front office have equal parts to blame in this whole charade for Newcastle. To me, I've thought of Newcastle as sort of what Yahoo has become today, who once had an innovative spark as a growing startup but like the few startups that ever actually make it big, they turn into corporations and with it, comes crippling bureaucracy and what's worse, the feeling they had run out of ideas and frankly, out of gas. Bringing back Kevin Keegan was a lot like Yahoo bringing back Jerry Yang to be their CEO again, to bring back a guy who has "been there" before, has had the experience of being in that seat, but the big suits fail to realize is just because they've had the experience, just because they've had the familiarity of the job, that doesn't mean they know the situation. That's what failed with Yang at Yahoo and that's what followed suit at Newcastle because Keegan wasn't given the control to head the club in a direction he knew he had seen fit to get it in shape. Lots of Newcastle fans tend to give majority owner Mike Ashley plenty of flak, but I think it's not just the bad decisions he approved since taking over isn't the bad thing, rather they're all symptoms of today's owners who take over football clubs for the sake of taking over football clubs not being fully aware of the ecosystem of the club (the culture, the fans, the situation, etc.). Instead, Ashley like most suits out there, just did what a number of corporate fat cats do, rehash old ideas and pass it up as a new solution.
That brings me to the thought of Alan Shearer. I posted a comment to my own blog on why I think Shearer isn't the answer at Newcastle and I'll go as far as to say, he shouldn't return next season. I can't deny what Shearer brings on the intangible side of management because he brings an understanding of the team's culture invaluable to the club's organization and he brings a calming influence as well as a connection to the supporters, more or less the feeling that one of their own is running things. However, I've said it before a couple of times in that I don't believe Shearer's the answer because not many great individual players turn out to be great managers in the long run. I've used the analogy of Shearer to Magic Johnson becoming an interim coach of the Lakers in (I think) the 1993-94 season, in being given just a handful of games to sort the team out for the NBA playoffs (in Lakerland, not qualifying for the playoffs is a prospect that's unheard of and is a rarity). The Lakers fell short of the playoffs that year and Magic quit immediately from coaching, only to return from retirement as a player back onto the basketball court a year later. Looking back on that moment, Magic had seen the allure and love of coaching, but found it to be difficult and quite frankly, he quit while he was ahead. It's easy to get players to listen to the game plan and air out a few motivational thoughts, but another thing to be a great manager of players when they're not necessarily of great quality. The job requires plenty of patience, a good dose of humility, a greater dose of realism, and the wherewithal to go through it in the sense that success is far beyond an inner locus of control, of just getting the game plan to work. I've said it about Roy Keane when he quit Sunderland; he had the standard and the arrogance that once he got Sunderland to quickly buy in to the plan and win the League Championship within that first season, to push Sunderland to a level that wasn't wholly realistic. Having such ambition is great, holding your team to a higher standard is better, but it's intrinsic in each great individual player-cum-manager to then swing for the fences in reach for a goal that's not quite within reach to begin with. As a result, Keano spent way too much on transfers for a club not used to such activity and with a higher standard on the players he already had, they reached a burnout level where their skill set just didn't match the gaffer's intensity and planning. In short, with a Roy Keane or a Frank Rijkaard, there isn't a plan B, to the point where if the team hits a minor snarl, it ebbs into something worse, and they didn't capitulate in those situations only because they didn't attack the problem head-on. Such is the test for Keano at Ipswich and should Shearer stay on at Newcastle, it will be his test to assume. Through eight matches under his belt, Shearer felt all the pains in an entire regular season in a tiny portion of it. His greatest mission, should he choose to accept it, is to see if he can last through a full season of what could potentially be full of growing pains. It takes a scrapper like Steve Bruce who can get players on limited talent to get his players to play better than their potential and who knows how it is to manage with limited resources, to make headway in the Championship, not necessarily an inspirational leader like Shearer. There's a double-edged sword in a mass exodus in that new blood will be infused into the team who are likely willing to play for the shirt, but they won't necessarily have the sheer quality of the old guard to head in the right direction in terms of results. I highly doubt Newcastle will be promoted next year and the realistic prospect is they have to look at it like Wolverhampton did, in a five-year span to get back to the Premier League. The key is if Shearer will be there and my personal belief is he takes the Magic Johnson route, if not, by this time next year.
Well, that's too much chatter on my part to talk about Newcastle than I could tolerate, but again, this is a massive blow to the club and I don't see this as a blessing in disguise one bit. I don't believe they'll go the way of Leeds or Southampton especially if Mike Ashley isn't tempted to sell Newcastle, but they will be a target in the Championship and if Charlton Athletic's descent to League One taught us anything, a favorite for promotion can be somewhat of a misleading tip.
I wanted to wrap things up with this week's fantasy scores, but Yahoo is in lockdown mode since Sunday when the roster edits were closed. I'll wrap up this week and this season with the only redeeming thing from Eurotrip (besides Kristin Kreuk) and that's this clip, which doesn't fail to put a smile on my face:
The best thing about football is even in a non-Euro/World Cup year, the offseason is so short, we can assume the preseason is here, but truth be told, there's plenty of football to be played this week all over Europe and in the world (MLS, anyone?). At any rate, it's been fun and again, I'll be blogging every now and then during this Summer as transfer news filters in, all before the new league season kicks off again this August. Until then, work on your tan, but keep your clothes on...
-Ray
