Friday, November 28, 2008

Joe Kinnear to lead

Official word out of St James’ Park is that Joe Kinnear has been handed the reigns for the season. Managing Director Derek Llambias said of the situation: “Joe has done an excellent job since coming to the Club and everyone is delighted that he has agreed to remain in charge for the rest of the season.”

In the official statement Joe Kinnear said:

“Ever since I came to Newcastle United I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“The players have been great to work with and the fans have made me feel at home since day one.

“We have a big challenge ahead of us for the rest of the season but together I’m confident we will make good progress.

“We have some very good players already at this club and hopefully we can further strengthen the squad in January and I will be working very closely with the directors to try to achieve that.”

Naturally during this extremely difficult time we all want the very best for the Magpies and hopeful of his success with the clubs. Truth be told this was likely the only opportunity for the club as few managers would be interested in the position. That is a difficult pill to swallow and one I would prefer not to say but sadly it is the truth. The problems of managing go far beyond common tactics on the pitch but relate to the lack of control of player personnel and the enormous financial constrictions. With the later many are aware that the club needs to maintain a positive balance in the transfer market as their will be no additional internal funding but this is further weighted with the financial burden of added costs of borrowing. Professionally speaking from a coaching perspective, I am very aware that the club’s internal structure has constricted considerably and lacks many services that should be a part of a Premier League club. Yet with all this in-mind, it is painfully obvious as much as there might be managers you prefer to lead the charge, Joe Kinnear might be the best man in-fact as he not only understands the unique problems but is ready to tackle them head-on.