FanHouse Newcastle

Over the weekend there were newspaper reports and Internet chatter that the owners of Newcastle United were preparing to sell their team to the family of Osama bin Laden. That did not go over well with fans.

So Newcastle United posted a message on its web site insisting that the rumors weren't true:

"At a time when everyone at Newcastle United is working hard to prepare for the new season ahead, it is annoying that we have to continually correct inaccurate newspaper stories," [Newcastle Managing Director Derek Llambias said].

"Whoever is putting these stories around is clearly trying to destabilise the Club and you wonder what their motives are for doing this. ... I'm sure supporters see these stories for what they are - utter nonsense."

The vast majority of bin Laden's enormous family has disavowed his terrorist activities, and even if they hadn't, there's nothing in place in England to vet potential club buyers, so all sorts of shady characters are welcome to throw their cash into clubs. (See here for more on that.)

But the bin Laden name is viewed as so poisonous in the West that it's hard to see any European or North American sports fans accepting the bin Ladens as team owners. Newcastle fans won't have to.

Of course, that's akin to saying, "Andy Gray is somewhat opinionated."


Manchester police recently released this CCTV footage of thuggish Newcastle midfielder Joey Barton pounding the crap out of some random guy on the street. Barton is serving six months in the pokey for this assault. He also got a four-month suspended sentence for his attack on teammate Ousmane Dabo while he was at Manchester City. Dabo. who's now with Serie A club Lazio, called Barton a "coward" and told reporters that Newcastle "does not care about the law and it shocks me."

I say we lock Barton and Rannord Jones in the same room for a day and see which one of them makes it out. Who's with me?

(H/T: 101 Great Goals)

Newcastle United manager Kevin Keegan would like you to know something very important about the Premier League. It's getting a little stale.

"Maybe (Newcastle) owner (Mike Ashey) thinks we can bridge that gap - but we can't. This league is in danger of becoming one of the most boring but great leagues in the world.

"The top four next year will be the same top four as this year. What I can say to the Newcastle fans is that we will be trying to get fifth and we will be trying to win the other league that's going on within the Premier League."

Keegan makes a legitimate point. A vicious cycle exists in the Premier League right now, where the Big Four -- Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United -- finish in the top four every year, go to the UEFA Champions League, earn as much as £30 million more than all the other clubs, use that money to buy top players to strengthen their roster, finish in the top four again the next year, and so on and so on, until only four clubs have a real shot at the League title and the rest are left to fend for UEFA Cup scraps.

I believe, however, that there's a way to break this cycle.

Are you happy now, Toon Army? Does it please you to see your beloved Newcastle United get rid of Sam Allerdyce before he had a chance to lift the club out of its mid-table mediocrity and create a legitimate challenger for a European tournament? Were you just looking to blame someone for leaving you with the scourge that is Joey Barton?

Let me clue you in on something. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither were Manchester United and Arsenal. Successful clubs in any sport generally don't get rid of their managers if they don't produce instant results. It took five years for Big Sam to get Bolton from the Football League to the Premier League to the UEFA Cup. What made you think he was going to make Newcastle a European contender in eight months? And what makes you think anyone worth their salt will want to manage your club now?

"It was an open secret that he was under pressure after making such a mediocre start - but the timing of his leaving was still unexpected," said BBC Radio 5 Live's chief football correspondent Mike Ingham.

"But Newcastle's problems stretch back over 30 years - not half a season. Managers have been hired and fired far too quickly. When will the penny finally drop that stability and continuity are the main ingredients needed to achieve success?

There it is, Toon Army. Your club doesn't have a manager -- just a nasty reputation. Good luck getting back to Europe with that.