According to the Chronicle, Newcastle United are planning to ‘crank up’ their search for a new manager this week.
This comes from Lee Ryder’s latest piece on the search for Rafa’s replacement, with him claiming that both Lee Charnley and chief scout Steve Nickson held talks with Mike Ashley last week.
Here’s an extract from the Chronicle’s report, stating that the club have drawn up a shortlist, spoken to agents of ‘targets’ in Europe and are hoping to make progress this week before the squad fly out to China:
Newcastle United’s mission to find a new manager is set to be cranked up this week.
Managing director Lee Charnley and head of recruitment Steve Nickson held talks with Mike Ashley last week and have since flown out to Europe to talk to the agents of some targets.
The Magpies have drawn up a shortlist but will need answers by the end of the week from those being considered.
Both Belgium boss Roberto Martinez and out of work former Feyenoord boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst are still under consideration.
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has also made the final shortlist, but the Ibrox club will put up a fight to retain his services – and the Scouser has already been advised that Rangers is still the club for him.
Although, Gerrard will want to see a clear and ambitious project on the table if he is to give up the security of his contract in Scotland.
But Newcastle are quite clear in the type of character they want to fit into the club.
Handling the pressure and accusations of being a “yes man” will all be part of the job, but more importantly from an internal point of view, they must be able to dovetail into the club’s current transfer blueprint.
Already some big names have distanced themselves from Newcastle but for all the chaos, there’s a big job on offer to somebody.
They’ll be asked to work closely with Charnley and Nickson and take a good look at the players that the club already have on their database.
Of course, they’ll be able to introduce targets of their own, but Newcastle don’t have time to haggle over targets with just a month of the transfer window remaining.
But the pressing matter for United right now has to be getting a manager in place.
With the constraints of working under Ashley abundantly clear, it seems likely that the next manager will be from the continent and also currently out of work, so NUFC wouldn’t have to pay any form of compensation fee. Van Bronkhorst would fit the bill and does have an impressive spell winning the title in Holland with Feyenoord after an illustrious playing career. The likes of Quique Sanchez Flores, Laurent Blanc and Mikel Arteta have also been mentioned as managers high up the club’s ‘shortlist’.
However, after a disastrous 12 year regime, it is dangerous to second guess Ashley, Charnley and co. We all remember the left field appointment of Alan Pardew and utterly calamitous spell of Jo Kinnear, so an unknown could also be appointed. Let’s face it – we have a weak squad, no promise of significant investment in this current transfer market and have just sold our top scorer.
Any top manager, even remotely near the quality of Benitez, simply won’t accept the conditions and constraints offered at Newcastle. The fact that they are only now accelerating the search is embarrassing and frustrating in equal measure, as they knew Benitez was leaving as early as May. With such an inept owner and Managing Director, the vast majority of Newcastle fans may rightly feel that the new manager is almost irrelevant – it is changing the toxic ownership that matters if we are to progress.
I think if they got sir Alex Ferguson to come out of retirement and give him 300 million to spend on transfers the nufc fans might care, but otherwise who gives a flying **** who they to they get to run their laughing stock circus of a club.
Nufc 11(Quote)
It could be the difference of staying up and progressing or going down and putting us back a few years, so decision is very important. There is money to spend whether a takeover goes ahead or not so no need to panic just yet.
t00nraider(Quote)
No one of notable ability with half a brain cell wants to sign for or manage Fat Boy Ashley’s **** football club. Thing is that he’s too stupid to realise that.
Wally McFool(Quote)
At what time do you panic? A new manager has to look over the existing team in China then return to England with only two weeks of the Transfer window when we have no attack and a **** poor mid field. Any new players will have to hit the ground running and step up against Arsenal. All whilst being under 25 and £10 million. But not time to panic.
Colin(Quote)
R.I.P can’t be bothered
Richard McClurg(Quote)
Think alot of these articles are pointless and put out to wind the fans up.
Who says they have flown out to meet agents in Europe??? I have never seen as much guess work in all my life.
Scooby doo and Shaggy could do a better job than some of these journalists.
Cocobear(Quote)
For the record, we only share what OTHER outlets are reporting and we have never claimed to be ITK.
If this is a dig at the Chronicle then fair enough, but if you’re suggesting we write these to wind fellow NUFC fans up then you couldn’t be more wrong.
This is a blog ran by passionate Newcastle fans – we all want the same thing.
Olly Hawkins(Quote)
Crank up? PMSL! Who buy’s this garbage, especially from the clueless Chron? Fatty and Penfold have had since last year to look for a replacement as they knew they were not going to give Rafa what he wanted. He has also now gone on record and said he told them both in May he would not being renewing his contract as a result of that.
The Chronicle jokers are surely willing stooges to keep repeating this rubbish or are actually so inept that they are being paid for a job they are incapable of actually doing.
sickandtired(Quote)
The only thing I want to read about fatty is his obituary, sick of the whole mess he’s creating !!! Boycott boycott boycott adulthood
davep(Quote)
Why don’t you reporter types actually do a bit of journalistic investigation and ask question directly to the football club, or possibility new buyers of the club, agents of managers,
If you look into it you could possibly find a email of a agent and ask a simple question eg has your man been approached regarding the NUFC job then you would be able to have a exclusive instead of reading every news article and wording it a different way
That’s how they us to do it a few years ago
Davidp(Quote)
But the comments speak for themselves, you spin off negative on factual articles using other people’s names because you know it isn’t true but still bang on about fatty and penfold like we give a ****. Where is the good in that, the Newcastle fans want something to look forward to and something cheery at this moment in time olly not what appears to be MA PR supporting.
Cocobear(Quote)
No mention of the takeover whatsoever? Surely, new owners would want an input into who was manager? Either the Chronic are completely out of the loop on this or they know there is no takeover.
Dave(Quote)
Newcastle is a nightmare club to support right now,we are no less than you from up the road and us down the road.
Lee Freeman(Quote)
A bit pointless quoting the Comical as we know they are stooges of the club. No sale, No buys and a journeyman for a manager. Say hello to fat Sam!
LA Toon(Quote)