A flock of Magpie experts for Euros
THE SHOCK OF ERIKSEN SHOWS CLUB WAS WISE TO INVEST IN A DEFIBRILLATOR
Jones is as important to United as Wilson’s goals, Saint-maximin’s trickery and Dubravka’s shotstopping
THEY say you wait ages for one bus then three come along at once!
Well, Geordies Euro-spotting while awaiting momentous Newcastle United news (signings or takeover) will be confronted by not one, not two but three Magpie coaches come the Battle of Britain, England v Scotland, on Friday night.
Our latest dugout dandy Graeme Jones will be sitting in England’s enclosure while another Geordie, John Carver, will be alongside Steve Clarke in tartan garb.
Of course Jones has the huge advantage in terms of local popularity – he played a significant part in United’s run to respectability in the season just ended and he is with the Three Lions.
Make no mistake, we want him to be victorious on Friday and beyond with England and especially so next season when United resume their annual fight against relegation which we are automatically subjected to by the ominous long shadow of Mike Ashley’s presence.
Jones is as important to United as Callum Wilson’s goals, Allan Saintmaximin’s trickery on the hoof and Martin Dubravka’s shot-stopping.
A big far-fetched? Naw, think about it. Steve Bruce needs someone whispering in his ear to make certain he does not pull the reverse lever and plunge his side back into Timid Timothy mode.
Because when he does the likes of Wilson and Saint-maximin are nullified and results dip alarmingly.
United MUST think beyond not losing, especially in the matches against moderate opposition, if we are to stay above the deadbeats and easybeats.
Jones, a centre-forward in his playing days, may not have been a high-profile player like Bruce at Manchester United, or world class like Ruud Gullit, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness or Ossie Ardiles but his positive influence at St James’ Park can be very significant over the months ahead. Even more significant than his illustrious predecessors, many would say.
The others, after all, spectacularly failed to gain a permanent place in the hearts of the faithful.
Jones, a son of Gateshead, has plenty of tournament experience internationally, of course, having served as Belgium’s No 2 at the 2018 World Cup.
The Tartan Army twosome – Steve Clarke and John Carver – both very fleetingly managed Newcastle as caretakers while first-team coach up here.
Clarke originally joined United as assistant to Gullit in 1998, helping the Mags to the FA Cup final the following year.
He stood in as caretaker after Gullit was chopped suffering a 5-1 defeat to Manchester United before Bobby Robson walked among us.
When Sir Bobby got the pedal despite a glorious interlude in United’s
history Carver, his coach, took a single match which he won 3-0 against Blackburn Rovers before a long spell in temporary charge from January to June of 2015, when Alan Pardew left ahead of the dreadful appointment of Steve Mcclaren.
Carver’s record in that period was far from good – 20 games of which he won only three, drew four and lost 13 – but it was his press deliberations which hit the headlines.
Famously he anointed himself “the best coach in the Premier League” though he probably meant something slightly different. Equally, he rashly accused an honest pro Mike Williamson of deliberately getting himself sent off at Leicester.
Thus fans remember Carver with little affection, though in fairness he was at his best in harness with Bobby Robson.
Scotland carry plenty of Geordie connection when they confront Jones and England with Ryan Fraser one of four current players the club have at the Euros. Martin Dubravka (Slovakia), Fabian Schar (Switzerland), and Emil Krafth (Sweden) are the others, of course.
FOOTBALL’S showpiece, the European Championships trumpeted in after great delays, was brought into shuddering perspective when Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest while Denmark played in front of their own Copenhagen crowd.
If ever we were to realise that football is merely a game however passionate it came with the sight of the stricken former Spurs star lying felled on the turf surrounded by shocked team-mates before decimated fans.
His life was thankfully saved by the quick and expert use of CPR and a defibrillator by the medical team on hand.
Such shocking drama was relayed into homes across England by the live BBC coverage of Denmark’s opening Euro match with Finland and here on Tyneside it had a particularly significant impact.
Because Blue Flames 2020 Walking Football Club, based in Newcastle, targeted the purchase of a defibrillator for just such an emergency when they were approached over a sponsorship deal.
I shall let Angie Stanger-leathes, a devoted Newcastle United fan who has a matchday table in the Moncur Suite at St James Park, tell the significant story of her sponsorship.
She said: “The shocking sight of Christian Eriksen brought home to me how necessary the safeguards are that we took with Blue Flames.
“I decided to sponsor this project mainly to support the health and well being of older guys who love our beautiful game.
“When I asked them if they wanted new strips through my sponsorship they said they were saving for a portable defibrillator to have at pitchside because the players range from 50 years of age through to late 70s – our cat-like goalie is 72!
“I immediately sorted a defibrillator for them for which they were very grateful. After the dreadful Christian Eriksen saga the club tweeted a few messages thanking me.
“My reason for doing it was never recognition but they want to highlight the fact having a defib will definitely save lives at whatever level you play.
“Eriksen being as young as 29 and a fighting-fit full-time professional only emphasises the importance of being prepared.
“I wrote a book a little while back called ‘Football Passion in Black and White’ under my Celebrity Football Passion banner which once it had made a profit I decided would help grassroots football and the arts.
“This is what paid for the defibrillator. The book is timeless and still being sold after five years.
“I now see myself as a pioneer to maybe help teams raise funds.
“If they want to sell my books they can keep £5 for each one sold which is the profit percentage.”
Denmark’s team doctor Morten Boesen said: “When Christian collapsed he was gone. How close were we to losing him? I don’t know.
“We got him back after one defib so that is quite fast.”
Indeed it is. When Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup tie at White Hart Lane in 2012 it took 15 definbrillation shocks to bring him back to life.
Newcastle’s top Entertainer David Ginola suffered a heart attack in 2016 during a charity match and says he was ‘dead’ for nine minutes before his heart was restarted at the fifth attempt with a defibrillator.
What the unusual sponsorship deal means to Blue Flames was emphasised by Karl Rutherford who tweeted: “We are so lucky our sponsor purchased our defibrillator for us. Top drawer Angie from Celebrity Football Passion.”
THE Newcastle United Supporters Trust drew the battle lines with the Premier League and the club in a “productive” meeting with the panel behind what could be the biggest shake-up of football in a generation.
The NUST made the case to the panel of the fan-led review into football governance that fans “deserve better” from the people who run Newcastle, saying Mike Ashley was a “rogue owner” and the way the club is run presents issues which should never have been allowed to materialise.
It also said the Premier League – who it revealed insisted it was “protecting” the club during the takeover process which is still yet to be resolved – had offered no help in bringing them to account and had been found wanting over the proposed buy-out and the state it had left the club in.
It represents an urgent intervention as big changes appear to be on the way for the sport.
The Government’s fan-led review into football governance has been handed a wide-ranging remit to investigate the way the sport is run in England in response to the European Super League outrage.
It could lead to an independent regulator and demands for the Premier League to change the way it administers the game – and name-checked the Newcastle takeover when it was launched last week.
It is a sign of the respect with which Newcastle’s influential supporters organisation is held – as well as the club’s unique issues – that it is the only Trust outside of the clubs involved in the ESL fiasco which has been given time to address the panel directly.
On Monday, NUST board member Alex Hurst and chairman Greg Tomlinson presented to the nineperson panel and told them:
THE Premier League has not fulfilled its promise of transparency over the takeover.
THE way Newcastle is run is a “unique” case study which is a warning for the game.
THE club’s lack of communication – with no fans’ forum since December 2019 – has not drawn a response from the Premier League despite representations.
AN independent regulator is urgently needed – along with new regulations to make sure Newcastle’s issues are resolved and not repeated elsewhere.
THE lessons of the 1892 Pledge – and how it can work for clubs elsewhere.
The NUST had sought feedback from both members and nonmembers ahead of Monday’s Zoom call.
It will submit written evidence in the coming weeks and provided The Chronicle with the presentation made to the panel.
Hurst said after the meeting: “It was useful – the panel really
engaged with what we were saying.
“They were really interested in the 1892 Pledge scheme, had lots of questions about it and were very interested in the lack of communication from Newcastle United.