Dodds' - Comments

January blues?
Christmas came early.

Firstly, just at the start of November. Mike Ashley asked me to come into his office to inform me that he was putting the club up for sale, he said he achieved what he wanted. By getting Newcastle back to the big stage, and that he hoped someone would come and put in the money the club deserved and hoped that I would keep my job. At the end of November and early December, Ashley and a local tycoon had several meetings and a few days into December the takeover was complete. However for being a tycoon he then took out a massive loan which was around the £55m to help with the runnings of the club, however that's another loan we need to repay and we need to get this loan paid off as quick as possible if we can start to make money.



Transfer
Demba has gone.

January window opened and we got rid of Demba to Liverpool. The £15m we received was a good price due to him getting a lot of injuries during the last two seasons, however the fans weren't pleased at all due to his goalscoring record. Demba had scored around 10 goals in 15 games, myself I thought the price was more important due to him nearly hitting his 30's and a lot of value will be lost. We have full confidence in Papiss to get us our goals, especially with Adam Campbell and Jesper Csali coming through it's a good time for Newcastle forwards.



Fixtures
Champions League, are we still in it?

Yes, we are. Topping the group, yes it's a massive shock however we new we could qualify. We had the self belief and the lads were tremendous, especially the win against Real at home was a particular highlight. However with the ups of the Champions League form, our domestic form hasn't been up to what we were hitting last year. This could be up to the travelling that the lads aren't used to doing every other week, hopefully with the season just hitting the knockout stages we hope the league form starts to pick up as the lads are getting fitter and putting in brilliant performances we just need the luck we had last year. And hopefully no more major injuries. We are sitting 9th in the league.

Season 2014/15
Season re-cap


Last season, what a surprise it was. The way the results were constantly going our way, the luck was in and hopefully more will come next season as we want European football to be constant. Europe brings fans, revenue and mainly brilliant players to the club. Firstly the main thing we done this pre-season was to get rid of our wide players as we wouldn't be using our 4-3-3 anymore as the 4-2-3-1 was dominant, players such as Obertan and Jonas were sold as they wouldn't fit in. However Sammy Ameobi wouldn't sign a new contract other than £30k per week, which we thought was scandalous so we also had to get rid of him before he disrupted the harmony at the camp. Also the players we wanted to bring in, were either youngsters to come through our ranks which we have excellent coaches to make sure they reach there maximum potential. Or we wanted game changers such as Ben Arfa and Wellington Nem, we were looking at a lot of players such as Belhanda, Gourcuff and Isco. In the end we thought age and talent were perfectly on his side. The £26m we paid for him, hopefully it will pay off.



As well as bringing in Isco for a massive fee we also spent a few million more this summer. Raheem Sterling was brought in mainly as a young player who will definitely be an England international in the near future, he's very quick and will have the opposing defence in rings. He's a brilliant signing who will become one of our main players in the near future. Another player we brought in was James McCarthy, he had a brilliant season last year for Wigan. His vision and passing were tremendous against us home and away. So bringing him here to St James' was a no brainer, hopefully he will take notice of Yohan who can definitely teach him a thing or two which will help him develop. Then the youngsters we brought in, included a young centre midfielder from West Ham who will be our main shout to take over Chieck Tiote and hopefully fill in next to James in the future. We also managed to get a young defender from Bologna whom reminds myself of a young Cannavaro as he has brilliant positioning and can also head, tackle and pass very well. Future captain for sure. Lastly we brought in a young striker from AC Milan who we didn't think we could get a deal for however after a few days of negotiations he was delighted to come to Newcastle, we will be looking for him to be leading the strike force hopefully very soon.




Fixtures
Here's to another brilliant season.

Pre-season fixtures came thick and fast, this was the main time to get our younger players involved and also the new lads we signed. Papiss was also involved a lot due to him being injured for 4 months at the end of the season which could of seen him pick up Top Goalscorer in the league. Our stand out player this pre-season was definitely Brandon Miele, the way he played was fantastic. His vision and ability to play a brilliant through ball into our strikers was a massive plus, also his eye for goal was also a positive. We didn't have such a brilliant start to the league however, with the league defeat to Man City. They just played us off the park all game, the brilliance of David Silva had our defenders in riddles. However a positive to this was we qualified by beating Benfica in the Qualifiers, our players to thank for that were Adam Campbell and our prolific striker Papiss. Although the positives, like the group two seasons ago. We again were drawn within the group of death which included Real Madrid, Dortmund and Zenit. If we can get out of this group or even get into the Europa League the lads can definitely be proud of themselves.

End to a fantastic season.
Champions League back at Newcastle!



The end to a fantastic season, the lads played absolutely brilliant. We said we were aiming between 2 and 3 years, and we made it after 2. Bobby would be proud of these lads after there spectacular season. The main reason for our qualification to the Champions League was the 23 goals that Papiss Cisse scored for us even though getting injured for 4 month in February, Wellington Nem also contributed to the cause with 20 assists over the season. Again Steven Taylor got player of the season for us, the fans were delighted with Taylor's efforts at the back and with him tutoring Remie Streete hopefully he will step in just like his centre half partner. Pre-season will be seeing a lot of faces leave as the wide midfielders don't fit into our 4231 system, so this will see the departures of Gabriel Obertan, Jonas Gutierrez and Sammy Ameobi.



Fixtures
Youngsters coming through everywhere!

As well as the brilliant finish in the league we were a bit disappointed in the cups, getting into the Qtr Finals and 5th Rnd when we at least expected getting into the Semi Finals was disappointing. However, the wins we achieved in the later stages against Liverpool, Man Utd and Arsenal was delightful. At least when Cisse was injured there was plenty other people in our squad that could put the ball in the back of the net, more importantly youngster Adam Campbell stepping up his place for a first team spot in the very near future. Other players such as Brandon Miele has been a revelation this season, coming in as a young lad and bombing onto the scene like Campbell.

Midway Update
January's been and gone, have any players?

As we sit here on February 1st, we can say that we have eventually found a tactic that we can be proud of. This mass tampered formation we have spent months on the training ground has finally paid off, the players look happy playing for the club now as we are starting to be more consistent at home and also away. Papiss Cisse has been on fire this year which is what the Geordie fans would be expecting from the lad who got 13 goals in 12 games on his arrival 2 years ago, but this rich vain of scoring hasn't just been about Papiss. Wellington Nem has also been in majestic form, the assists he has created this season has seen us pick up those all important 3 points week after week. Another good note to take is the youngsters are starting to hold there own against very tough opposition, players such as Adam Campbell, Remie Streete and also recently Brandon Meile and Esteban Lopez have all been impressing and pushing for a first team spot. This new lease of life into the first team has also seen the lads go on brilliant unbeaten runs even though the media have said we are playing far above expectation. We want to be in Europe by the end of the season.

Click below for the top goalscorer and most assists so far this season.



Fixtures
Consistency is all we need.

As you can see by our fixtures below, there is a lot more wins than we could rack up last season. That's definitely progression, although the two defeats to Man City you can see there that they were very tight. I would say we should have atleast got a draw out of both, to be that close to them with their billions shows that we are obviously going in the right direction. Also wins against Chelsea and Man Utd stand out, we were fantastic in both and when Man Utd brought it back to 3-3 on the 60th minute we were trying to sturdy ourselves but no the big guy up top Papiss lead us through it scoring an amazing hat trick. Alot of our goals have came from Papiss but it is nice to see the likes of Anita, Demba, Ben Arfa, Meile and also Ogbonna getting on the scoresheet too.



Transfer Latest
The in's and out's.

There was only one incoming in January and this was a young Italian, centre midfielder. He's a lot like Yohan Cabaye as he is a very good passer, he's agile and can have a pop if need be. This transfer was obviously for the future and hopefully in a few years time the young lad can come into the first team taking over the reigns of Yohan. As well as one coming in, only one went out. Ryan Taylor went on loan to bottom of the table Hull, obviously they were having problems at the back and Ryan needed game time he wanted to go to Hull so he could play each week as Clyne has pushed him out the side in recent months. Also there is a buy feature at the end of this loan if they want to take him on.

Season 2013/14
Season re-cap


This season was setting off to get rid of the high earners and the older players 30+ off the books due to them losing value, as the finances weren't looking to good after last season. Also we were looking at the youth we had brought through and also had a point to replace those high earners with younger, more talented players if possible. We sent our scouts to Central Europe, Scandinavia, South America and also through the UK and Ireland to look for talent. Also we wanted to make sure we dominated our 11th place finish last year, the fans and the players deserve European football next campaign at the least.

The transfer window
Would it be a successful one?



As the transfer list above says we got rid of our highest earner Coloccini, however the fans were devastated. Although the £8.5m we received for him was brilliant and this would be a payment that we could give to get another brilliant defender from Europe. Angelo Ogbonna was the choice to replace him, he's a powerhouse, very quick and also his positioning was one of the main reasons we looked at this fella. Another departure was Danny Simpson due to him getting behind Ryan Taylor in the pecking order, and we wanted someone quicker who also could actually cross a ball and cause danger to the opposition. This choice was Nathaniel Clyne. Steven Harper also left us and we brought in an England U21 goalkeeper, who will definitely be pushing Tim Krul and also Joe Hart in the next few years. In the youth department we signed a brilliant young striker who could be partnering Adam Campbell in the future which could be one of the most deadliest strike partnerships in the Premier League.



Fixtures
Consistency is key

In pre-season this was the time to get the new players introduced into our style of play, however it would also be the time to get the younger players some game time. Also we started Papiss Cisse to try and get his confidence firing for the start of the season as he was missing a lot of clear chances and this could have improved our finish. Hopefully the luck will be on our side this year, he was deadly in pre-season with 4 goals in 5 games.

Then the start of the Premier League, in the first four games I expected at least two wins. However the loss to Wolves whom are doing very well so far with the likes of Doyle being in tremendous form against us was disappointing. However the Liverpool result delighted the fans, especially with us starting a few youngsters like Remie Street and Esteban Lopez. Also we were dominating games but our players didnt seem to be getting forward as much as we would expect this was probably due to the flat 4-4-2. This may need to be changed to an advanced 4-2-3-1, with Papiss getting more support up top. We were also delighted to advance in both Rnds of the cup, as last season we went out in the 3rd Rnd in each. This year we want to at least hit the quarter finals and maybe even get into the semis... this is possible, believe.

Disastrous Season
Thank god for the end.



After this season, I think we can say... thank god for that. We were so up and down all season, mostly down which was horrible and hopefully we can stabilise and make St James' a fortress again. The wins that stand out are the Man Utd, Sunderland and Reading games as these were must win games as I was nearing the sack but gladly the team got me through it, and I got another 4 years on the contract. There wasn't many players that stood out and performed very well this season in more than a few occasions but I have to take my hat off to Gabriel Obertan stepping in the place of Papiss Cisse when he went to the ACoN, the Frenchman scored in all but 1 game he played as a striker and he could be played more in this position next season if he continues this goal scoring form.

2012/13 Awards
Top 3 lads!


As you can see Papiss was our top goalscorer followed very closely by a few other players which was good to see the goals shared out, however we need far more next campaign to push on for Europe again. Hatem was sheer class in about 50% of the games we played and this was mostly at home which he needs to make more of it and make them more consistent. Lastly Steven Taylor, the guy is an absolute rock at the back and he should be pushing for an England cap next season if he keeps this up.



Looking to the future.
The youth, and the future aims.

Our future plans are obviously to bring the best youth possible through the ranks as Adam Campbell is showing this season. We had one decent young player who will develop brilliantly in the future by the likes of Steven Taylor, hopefully he could be partnering him in the future. This pre-season will consist of myself getting rid of the older players who are on mass wages, this could include Jonas and Fabricio Coloccini which could cause an upset to the camp. But it could also do our finances wonders.

Halfway Gone.
No one came, no one went.

As January came around we had a terrible time, near on myself getting sacked after a mass run of horrible draws and defeats. This was very distressing as the team were playing very well, however the shots on target were not transferring over to goals. After the loss to Arsenal we decided to change from our 4-3-3 Asymmetric to a flat 4-4-2 and this changed a lot of things by having 2 strikers upfront. We had a lot more clear cut chances although our possession wasn't up to what we were usually having. Or stand out wins were against Sunderland away from home, and also the win against Man Utd 3-1 at home. Although the results were more important. We also didn't bring anyone into the club, and no one left either.

Click below for fixtures.



Europa League
Disappointing more than anything.

The Europa League caused us more problems, as well as not getting through to the knockout stages which was massively disappointing. Even though it was the group of death, I thought we should have gotten through. Hopefully the next time we get there we will give a better account of ourselves.



Squad List

Transfer Window, is now shut!

Pre-season saw Newcastle go out and get a new manager as Pardew left, and he didn't wait very long till he shifted out all the dead wood in the backroom staff and players. He brought in 3 new players which includes Wellington Nem, Jores Okore and Adam Lallana. Also 8 players left St. James' Park, in order to make funds for this. The Newcastle manager said that he wanted to get the players that he wouldn't be using off the books, also players like Xisco and Marveaux were on £40,000 a week and this was unneeded.

Wellington Nem, was brought in to be an attacking minded midfielder in order to give Ben Arfa more comfort as there would be more than him for the opposing team to worry about creating everything for Newcastle. He's a very quick, young Brazilian and he will bring goals and a lot of chances for The Magpies. Jores Okore was brought in as Mike Williamson departed to Celtic, this was also due to Remie Street also being to unexperienced to start Premier League games if Taylor or Coloccini get's injured. Lastly, Adam Lallana was brought in as a replacement for Jonas which could be as soon as January. He will also be a backup to Cabaye which makes him a very versatile player, he has the vision, flair and also the shot to be a brilliant LM or CM for Newcastle this season.

Click below, for full view of transfers and player profiles.







Fixtures
Pre-season and the start of the Premier League.

We started off pre-season okay with a 1-0 victory over our Reserves. Technically it basically was young fringe players vs younger fringe players, and it was a brilliant game. Vuckic, Campbell, Street all impressed. We also recorded a brilliant 2-0 win against Sochaux, however the next two games weren't so brilliant. We had more than 60% possession in the first 3 games but the experience that Athletic have destroyed us. However Street played really well against Llorente which was brilliant viewing.

With the start of the Premier League and also our Europa League qualifying campaign starting at the same time. We had to rotate players regularly within the first 5 games, with our new boy Wellington Nem starting brilliantly with 2 goals in his first 2 games. However we drew against West Ham and Dinamo, which we should have comfortably beat with a staggering 40+ shots at their goals. Also the defeat against Chelsea was dreadful, we never really got started which was a massive disappointment. At the end at least we have 2 points on the board instead of 0, and we have qualified for the Europa League, even though it's probably the group of death we have been drawn into.

Newcastle United
Here's to Sir Bobby!



Today, Newcastle have suddenly appointed a new manager at St. James'. This is only hours after Alan Pardew resigned from the club for personal reasons, the manager thought to be named is said to be a local lad who has supported the club from birth. A lot of the Newcastle faithful have passed on there kind words for what Pardew achieved at the club after taking over from Chris Houghton, hoping the new manager will be able to deal with the demands that a football manager needs to handle.

Evening Chronicle have apparently spoke to the new manager in the last hour stating he's delighted to have agreed a deal to sit in on a years contract, he then later told by Ashley that he may get a permanent deal depending on results in the future. He has agreed to the terms that Ashley has set by bringing new youth through the systems that they have in place, also getting rid of the high earners from the wage bill. He has also said that a lot of the current staff will be keeping there jobs, which will delight the fans due to having favourites such as Beardsley and Carr in the backroom staff. However he may look to get a few staff in to improve the coaching, which he has put names down for Ashley to give the go ahead for.

Lastly he stated he wanted to bring back the Champions League football that 'Bobby's Boys' brought to St. James' Park within 2-3 years.