The Magpies would be bottom if their Messiah was there all season
The charming table above displays the records of all four Newcastle bosses this season and reveals where the club would have finished over 38 games based on each manager’s points average during their spell in charge.
It makes grim reading for Alan Shearer, whose record is only better than caretaker Chris Hughton’s because he was in charge for one less game. The statistics also suggest that Newcastle were well on their way to safety before Joe Kinnear had to step aside.
So is Shearer the right man to guide the club through a summer of wheeling and dealing - where Iain Dowie is likely to be influential in deciding who arrives having managed in the division with three clubs - or should someone else be given the chance? Let us know with a vote and comment below:
The day before Manchester Utd and Howard Webb beat Tottenham at Old Trafford, Rafa Benitez made it clear that he wished to rise above his battle of words with Sir Alex Ferguson. To do this, he continued the battle of words:
“I’m not having a battle of words with Alex Ferguson, but I believe that he can see that we are the better side, and that we are very close to United.
“He has been accustomed to playing these types of mind games for many years.
“Nobody has ever said anything against him, or stood up to him, as he has a very good team that can win trophies.
“I did not say that he seems frightened. But I said that he looks nervous, as he can see that we are very close to his team.”
After both sides claimed a convincing three points at the weekend, Rafa was typically defiant, implying that his Manchester rivals could slip up in the next few games (”If we keep winning I think maybe they will feel the pressure”).
Liverpool have had the better of the head-to-head encounters between the sides this season, however Fergie’s men are more consistent, and arguably less inclined to crack during squeaky bum time. So, is Rafa right to say he has a better side than Mr Ferguson, or do his mind games need a little bit of work? Let us know your thoughts below…
Nearly a third of readership wouldn’t want to be in Kaka’s blessed shoes, apparently
Real Madrid aren’t the only ones experiencing voting irregularities at the moment - apparently more than 30 per cent of Guardian readers would not want to be paid £500,000 a week to play for a Premier League side. Are they already insanely rich, or just a plain insane?
Ramon Calderon has been Real Madrid’s president since 2006, but thanks to a scandal published in Spanish newspaper Marca, the 58-year-old lawyer will be forced to resign today. Calderon stands accused of winning and securing the Presidency via a terribly naughty system of vote rigging. Four Four Two report:
“The presidential team snuck through people who did not have the right to vote to approve the accounts,” claims the paper.
Marca is reporting that Calderón and members of the team that helped win him Madrid’s presidential election in 2006 rigged the Assembly vote - a poll concerning matters such as the approval of the club’s accounts and budgets.
Marca claims that this vote rigging was achieved with the help of fake “compromisarios” (club members possessing voting rights) whose membership had expired or who did not have enough tenure to legally fulfill the role. It’s a bit like when Sideshow Bob became Mayor of Springfield by counting the votes of the deceased.
The man to whom Alex Ferguson would not “sell a virus” held a press conference on Wednesday denying his role in these shenanigans, but is expected to allow Vice President Vicente Bolouda to take the hot seat later today.
The scenario: You’re the manager of a Premier League team, and you’re allowed to strengthen your squad by signing just one player in the January transfer window. But you can only choose someone from Phil Brown’s bunch of overachievers - so who do you pick?
Your options: Brazilian Geovanni leaps to mind, but don’t forget the likes of Daniel Cousin, Boaz Myhill and George Boateng. And no, you can’t choose Phil Brown, even if you’d like to.
The scenario: You’re the manager of a Premier League team, and you’re allowed to strengthen your squad by signing just one player in the January transfer window. But you can only choose someone from Woy Hodgson’s improved squad - so who do you pick?
Your options: Woy the Boy has cannily ditched some of the journeymen so mysteriously favoured by Lawrie Sanchez. Jimmy Bullard, Brede Hangeland, Andy Johnson and Clint Dempsey should all be on your shortlist.
The scenario: You’re the manager of a Premier League team, and you’re allowed to strengthen your squad by signing just one player in the January transfer window. But you can only choose someone from Everton’s squad - so who do you pick?
Your options: David Moyes has assembled a very solid group at Goodison, and there is no one player who stands above the rest, as Cesc Fabregas does at Arsenal, for example. Mikel Arteta, Tim Cahill, Steven Pienaar, Joleon Lescott and Tim Howard are all class acts, but you might be more tempted by the young talent at Moyes’ disposal, such as Jack Rodwell and Dan Gosling.
The scenario: You’re the manager of a Premier League team, and you’re allowed to strengthen your squad by signing just one player in the January transfer window. But you can only choose someone from The Ginger Mourinho’s Wanderers - so who do you pick?
Your options: Can we interest you in: The sweet left foot of Matty Taylor, the midfield drive of Kevin Nolan, or the no-nonsense forward play of Kevin Davies? And don’t forget one of the most consistent keepers in the Prem: Jussi Jaaskalainen. Other names to conjure with include Johan Elmander, who has looked good up-front, Fabrice Muamba and Gary Cahill.
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