Newcastle fans griller Souness med spørsmål

[Asbjørn]

Day one of a two-part session as Toon manager Graeme Souness answers the fans' questions:

* How long do you see yourself being in charge of Newcastle United? - Brian, Newcastle

I have another two years of my contract and I certainly want to see out those two years.

* I would say that the vast majority of Newcastle supporters do not want you as manager and don't want to judge you at the end of the 2005-6 season, so why don't you give the majority their wish and leave now? - Aidan Blackburn, Wallsend

At the end of the day, the person I answer to is the chairman of Newcastle United and only the chairman can decide whether I go or whether I stay.

* What makes you think you can bring success to this club, because many fans would say there is little in your managerial career to indicate you will be a success in that area here? - Mike Fitzgerald, Newcastle

When I look back at the managerial jobs I have had, they have been with Rangers, Liverpool, Galatasaray, Southampton, Torino, if you can count six games, Southampton and Blackburn Rovers.

That's seven jobs and I won things at five of them and believe I have been a success.

* There was a quote from Freddy Shepherd in last Wednesday's Questions and Answers in the Chronicle that "Graeme Souness has a good track record in the transfer market at the likes of Rangers and Blackburn Rovers and he will get our full backing". Can you tell us what signing at Blackburn Rovers Freddy was referring to? If they were such great signings, why were Blackburn Rovers fighting relegation for the last few years until you left? - Nadine Strettle, Ponteland

As far as good and bad signings are concerned, there is not a manager who has been born who hasn't signed a player who he has not been disappointed in.

Let's face it, if I hadn't got it right for most of the time I would not still be a manager today.

As for signings I may have made, I don't want to go into names of individuals.

* Is this the hardest job you have ever had? - Jeremy Scott, Durham

No, I think all of the big jobs I have had have been difficult.

* I have read that Galatasaray want to take you back to Turkey and that because Pino Zahvi is a big admirer of the way you work that if Chelsea had not got Jose Mourinho they would have come for you. Is that right? - Tony, Benwell

I don't really want to say anything about that. I am manager of Newcastle United and that is all that concerns me.

* What does a manager do with a talented player with an attitude problem? Does a manager have a responsibility to get the best out of the player or is it better just to write off the player and bring in someone else? - Stephen, an exile.

That's management. You have to try to get the best out of the players you've got but if someone continually steps over the line and threatens to ruin the harmony within the group he has to go.

Bellamy can never play for me again

* For the sake of Newcastle United, could you please sit down with Craig Bellamy and captain Alan Shearer on June 22 when the players will be recalled and sort things out? - Daniel, Malta

* Is there any chance you could swallow your pride and get Craig Bellamy back from Celtic? - Steve McGill, Bedford

I can't do that. Craig Bellamy can never play for me again.

* Could you have handled the Craig Bellamy situation differently? - John Douglas, Alnwick

No. I asked myself that at the time and since then, and every time I come up with the same answer - that I could not have handled the Craig Bellamy situation any differently from the way I did.

* Do you think Newcastle United are a better or a worse side without Craig Bellamy? - Alex Wright, Gosforth

I cannot really answer that. But what I can say is that Craig Bellamy had scored seven goals up to the start of the New Year and he was probably on schedule to score more goals for this club than he had before in any one season.

And what I can also say is that our dressing room is a healthier place. At the end of the day, the club is not here for the benefit of any one individual.

* Freddy Shepherd stated on your appointment that you had been brought in to tighten up discipline both on and off the pitch. How would you judge your progress in this area of discipline since your arrival? - Christopher Magee

I think the players have a far clearer picture of what is and what is not acceptable as long as I am manager of this football club. And we no longer have players who just walk off the training ground when it suits them.

I think we now have a group of players who understand the way I want to work and what I expect from them in training and out on the pitch.

* What were you thinking when Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer were fighting on the pitch with one another? - Oliver Colligan, Tynemouth

I was thinking that it was something I had never seen before in 35 years in football and something I hope I never see in the next 35 years. I also believe it was such a one-off that we will never see it again.


Squad not strong enough

* When you first walked into the job you said the squad of players here at the time was the best you have ever had. What has gone wrong? - Brian, Newcastle.

What went wrong was that if you look at our results when we had everyone available, as we did when we first came here, we started off with an unbeaten run. Then just before Christmas we lost Alan Shearer, Nicky Butt and Stephen Carr and our results dipped. We got them back just after the New Year and our results picked up again.

We then signed Jean Alain Boumsong, Celestine Babayaro and Amdy Faye and the results were fine again and we were going OK.

But at no time have we had a squad capable of challenging on all fronts. We were fortunate enough to have a run in both the UEFA and FA Cups and that hurt our league form badly. But around the time of our quarter-final in Lisbon and semi-final in Cardiff we had a horrendous run of injuries when, because of the number of games we played, there was no time to recover.

That's why the squad was never strong enough to compete on all fronts. When we have everybody fit we can compete with anyone. But when we are without three or four of our top players we struggle against the top teams.

When we were going into that busy period, I was warning people we were fragile and that's the way things turned out.

But we know that we have a dozen players who can perform at the highest level.

I'm not a fall-out guy

* Why do you constantly fall out with your players and why don't you instead try and bury the hatchet instead of putting the club in jeopardy? - Christopher Steavans.

Who is constantly falling out with players? I totally deny that. The only player I have fallen out with here is Craig Bellamy.

Yes, Laurent Robert is not happy because he is not in the team every week but I don't expect any player not in the team to be happy.

I pick players on how they train and how they play in matches. I cannot fall out with people because our personalities are not matched. I have to be far bigger than that. That's not what management is about.

What it is about is doing the best for the football club which employs you and that means picking the players you think are doing the business at the time. It's not being about a clash of personalities. I have never gone down that road.

Whose are these players I have supposed to have fallen out with? Andy Cole? I rest my case. David Dunn? I rest my case. Craig Bellamy? I rest my case. Andy Todd? I rest my case. Dwight Yorke? We only fell out once at one training session.

Don't forget I have managed hundreds of players in my 19 years as a manager. So I have fallen out with five of them? I rest my case.

[Asbjørn]

Grilling part 2:

Alan Oliver puts more of your questions to Newcastle manager Graeme Souness:

* Before we stump up £500 for our season tickets, can we be confident you will spend wisely this summer? - Paul, Blaydon.

Yes, every penny we get will be spent wisely. The biggest test and job of a manager today is how he spends your money.

* I would like to ask Graeme Souness what calibre of player does he think he will be able to attract to St James' Park next season bearing in mind the squad he left at Blackburn Rovers, his public falling-out with players he has managed and maybe no European football which all top players crave? - B Vickers, Darlington.

* Will you be signing run-of-the-mill dependable players or can we expect top-notch world-class players to arrive at St James' Park? - Ron Ramsay.

My aim is to get some very good players here. We have a group of players we feel we can let go and we aim to replace them with players who can be a big influence at this football club. What I'm am big on is that I want to hit the ground running at the start of next season and to do that with some of the players we've got here and players with experience of the Premier League. Ideally, the new signings will be British or players who have experienced the Premier League.

* I am not going to renew my season ticket next season for the first time in 12 years because I am of the opinion that you, aided by Dean Saunders and the rest of your backroom staff, will ruin the side and possibly get us relegated. What do you plan to do to make me and thousands of other fans eat our words? - Alex Wright, Gosforth.

I hope we can sign the quality players we have targeted in the summer and make you renew your season tickets again.

* Given the fact that we spend most of our time in the press for the wrong reasons how difficult is it the right player to Newcastle? How can we attract the right player, someone with the heart of Shearer who will put the club first and not their bank account? - Martin Prosser, ex-Ashington now Montreal, Canada.

I am sure we can attract the kind of quality players we are after.

We have had no problems when we have been speaking to agents about the possibility of their players joining us. They know how big a club this is and what an even bigger club it can be.

* You've stated that you want to bring in older players since you won't win anything with 11 James Milners. Hasn't the club been let down badly this season by older players like Kluivert, Babayaro, Bowyer and Nicky Butt? - Was Shakoor.

I am not going into who I feel could have done better for us this season but my aim is to bring in players who have a bit of football knowledge. People who have been around the block a few times. Players who are 24 or 25 years old.

* Do you not think that comments such as "we won't win anything with 11 James Milners can only harm a young player's confidence? - Matthew Anderson, Newcastle.

The minute I said that at the press conference I thought it might appear differently to what I meant. So I asked the press not to use it, but as is the way with certain parts of the media, it was a headline that they could not turn down.

* How do you explain the utter disaster that has been the 2004-5 season? - Chris Masson, Walkergate.

If we had won against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final people would have been saying that while we may have been disappointing in the Premiership, we had had a great cup run.

And if we had got through against Sporting Lisbon, which we should have done, and then won the UEFA Cup semi-final people would have said it would have been a good season because we had got through to a cup final.

But in Lisbon we lost three key players through injury. That's where we lost it.

I would ask the fan who asks this question to look at our results when everybody was fit. We were three games away from being in two cup finals. But that has been forgotten and that's the way football is. We lost key players at a vital time and as a result we were fragile.

* In our opinion we appear to be a more effective and fluent team when Alan Shearer does not play. We would like to know your thoughts. - Steven Cook, Battle Hill, and Gary Smith, West Denton

I disagree with that. Alan Shearer has given phenomenal service to this football club and I don't think anyone who has the interests of Newcastle United at heart can criticise anything he has done.

He's been a one-man show at times. Indeed, if you take Alan Shearer's goals out of Newcastle United every year he has been here they are a mid-table team.

* Freddy Shepherd says your choice as manager to follow you is Alan Shearer. Don't you feel that NUFC deserve better than an apprentice and before taking on a club the size of Newcastle United Shearer needs to prove himself elsewhere? - Sue Donathy, East Boldon

It's not for me to decide. From the first day we can here I offered Alan Shearer the chance to be around me and involved in management as much as he wanted.

* If any player disagrees with you do you freeze them out or are you open to constructive criticism? - Arthur Bainbridge, Hartlepool

These days players have a far greater opinions than ever before. I think this is to do with the amount of football on television and former players and pundits offering their opinion.

So I think today all players have an opinion and I have no problem with that.

*I think the league and FA Cup should be our priority, so do you not think it would be better if you gave the Intertoto Cup a miss and concentrate all your efforts on getting Newcastle United back up the table? - Andrew Veitch, Falkirk

Without a shadow of doubt. My priority next season is the Premiership.

It is no coincidence that this club finished third when we didn't qualify for Europe after Troyes beat us in the Intertoto Cup.

Is it a coincidence that the year Ipswich had a run in the UEFA Cup and played in the San Siro they were relegated?

If you haven't got a squad of players to deal with all the cup-ties your league form will suffer and that's what has happened to us.

It's not rocket science. People look for things that don't exist.

The bottom line this season is that we didn't have enough quality players to go for it on all fronts and we got sucked into a situation in the UEFA Cup where we got through round after round and I ended up playing my strongest team on a Thursday night and then asked the same players to go out on a Sunday. It's just something you cannot do.

* Are you confident that you can remould some of the undoubted talent at your disposal in Dyer, Bowyer and Jenas or are fresh faces with different attitudes the only answer? - Robin Wright, Hamilton.

It was no secret that when we first came here that we would have to have a different attitude to football. Some of the players I inherited have, and that's all part of my brief and part of my job - first to get proper players in to go with the proper players we have, and the ones we think aren't good enough, we'll move on.

* Why do you insist on playing lopsided or narrow midfield formations ie only one winger or none at all where the opposition finds it so easy to nullify us? Also why are we slow in our build-up play ie 10 passes to move five yards? Steve (exiled in Manchester but still a season ticket holder)

First of all let me say there's no such thing as 4-5-1. The system we have been trying to play in recent weeks is the same system Chelsea have employed all season.

It's the same system or a slight variation of it that Manchester United attempt to play. Everton play it and so too do Bolton Wanderers. Like Manchester United, Arsenal use a slight variation of it.

It's been a success for them and in recent weeks it could have been a success for us but I don't think we have got the results we have deserved.

We should have got something at Norwich and at Old Trafford. Manchester United weren't in the game until that Wayne Rooney special. We should have won against Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace and we still cannot believe we didn't get anything from Everton.

So it's not the system which is letting us down.


No stampede for United rebels

* Do you believe you have the temperament (and soft-touch) to handle the modern-day footballer? Can you really blame Laurent Robert for him venting his frustrations to the media if his manager doesn't speak to him? - Vikram Aggarwal, Gosforth

* Are you going to heal the rift with Laurent Robert? Or is that another player we will have to lose? - David Lowe, Byker

Laurent Robert is not happy because he's not in the team every week and I haven't got a problem with this. But when you talk about inheriting a great squad of players surely the proof of the pudding - and forgetting my opinion on this - is just who is going to come in and buy them. Everybody knows who is available here. So let's see who comes in to buy them?

Let's see if these players warrant the regard they are thought of by some supporters at our club and if football regards them in the same high status as they regard themselves. If you are a top player all the top teams will be after you if you become available. Well, let's see who comes in for those we have available.

You just have to look at Craig Bellamy when he was made available at the end of January. Birmingham City wanted to buy him and nobody else. Does that not tell our supporters something? We are not dealing with someone like Barcelona or Real Madrid or Manchester United who wanted Bellamy. We are talking about Birmingham City.

As I speak we have no offers for any of our players. We have just had one inquiry for one player who could be leaving us.

Young players have proved a point

* I would like to ask Graeme Souness what his plans are for the younger players such as Milner, Taylor, N'Zogbia and Ramage? - Chris, South Gosforth

Well, I think they have all proved they can play in the Premiership. I don't think that 18 or 19 or even 20-year-olds can come in and do a job over a full season. But they have proved they can come in and handle playing both in the Premiership and indeed Europe.

* We seem to have a number of square pegs trying to fit into round holes. What is your preferred formation of playing? - A Wood.

Four defenders. A midfield that works hard. And strikers who work hard and score goals.

* Aren't you afraid that when bringing in too many new players (six I heard) you will need another season to create a unity in the team? - G Lammers, Netherlands

No, I don't think so. You don't have to look any further than Chelsea. They've got a load of new players this season and they ended up as champions with some style. In any case it would be unrealistic to think we can bring six players in.

* Do you think your team's performances this season merit crowds of 52,000? - Norman Riley, Gateshead

I cannot really answer that. I cannot speak for 52,000 people and neither can anyone else.

* Do you understand the mentality and inner thoughts of true Geordies. Presuming the answer is no, my question is do you intend to? - Colin Hetherington, Atlanta

What I do know about the Geordies is that they are true football supporters and I understand what football supporters are all about.

* I would like to know how you qualify the ludicrous statement you came out with a while back about being the most attacked-minded manager this club has had. I ask this after watching two goalless draws, both at home, when we played with one man up front. - Andy Rivers

The way we play depends on how you choose to see it. We played with three strikers against Middlesbrough and Crystal Palace but we didn't win either game because we did not convert our chances.

It's nothing to do with systems. But what it has to do with is individuals on the night not taking their chances.

* How can a player released on a free transfer and unproven in the Premiership be worth £7m or £8m six months later? - Malcolm Fisher, Thornley

How can I answer that? I am not responsible for Jean Alain Boumsong being a free transfer.

[Mack]

Dette var virkelig interessant lesning. Jeg mener Souness her viser tydelig liten respekt for både fans, spillere og klubben. Jeg ville vært mye mer ydmyk. Dette var ikke bra. I tillegg viser han total mangel på forståelse. Han forstår hverken fans eller fotballeksperters syn på fotball. Det han sier om system, at det ikke har skylden, og at vi spiller samme type system viser at han totalt mangler fotballkunnskaper. Mannen er jo blottet for alle egenskaper enn manager bør inneha. Det er en skam og flaut å ha han som manager.

[geordie-olav]

Har lest lenge og vel nå. Seriøse svar fra Graeme Souness. Det liker jeg. Men det eneste han prøver på, er jo å forsvare seg selv! Som du sa Mack. Han kunne ha vært litt mer ydmyk. Samtidig nevner han å hente inn en erfaren spiller. Det liker jeg.

Men han skylder på skader og dommeren, gang på gang. Barnslige unnskyldninger. Prøver virkelig å kaste skylden over på andre. Det liker jeg særdeles dårlig.

Samtidig prøver han å svinge unna spørsmål om spillernes skjebne i klubben. Han svarer ikke på selve spørsmålet om Laurent Robert. Han vrir seg unna. Veldig usaklig fra Souness.

En nederlender spurte et veldig godt spørsmål. Om det ikke ville bli kaos om vi kjøpte for mange spillere hele tiden. Souness sammenligner dermed Newcastle med Chelsea. "De har jo hatt suksess," påstår han. Vel. Å sammenligne oss med Chelsea blir vel helt feil. Kan ikke få skildret mitt voldsomme hat mot all denne kjøpingen. Spillere med hjertet i klubben skal bort. Inn kommer utenlandske spillere som knapt vet hva Newcastle er. De tenker bare i penger.

Souness var noe frekk en gang iblant. En spurte Souness om han ikke hadde innsett at han hadde feilet. At han måtte ta ansvar for sine egne feil. Men neida. Det var opp til Fatty det. Håpløs den mannen. Gjør alt feil selv og kaster skylden over på alle andre. Det er greit at han unnskylder seg selv, men å kaste skylden over på andre? Det er uakseptabelt!

[DanMan]

You just have to look at Craig Bellamy when he was made available at the end of January. Birmingham City wanted to buy him and nobody else. Does that not tell our supporters something? We are not dealing with someone like Barcelona or Real Madrid or Manchester United who wanted Bellamy. We are talking about Birmingham City.

Who are these players I have supposed to have fallen out with? Andy Cole? I rest my case. David Dunn? I rest my case. Craig Bellamy? I rest my case. Andy Todd? I rest my case. Dwight Yorke? We only fell out once at one training session.

"Don't forget I have managed hundreds of players in my 19 years as a manager. So I have fallen out with five of them? I rest my case.[/qoute]


 :lol: Han har sine glimt med store kommentarer denne mannen, uten tvil.

Dessverre er han desto verre på viktige områder som angår bl.a. åpenhet, formasjoner osv. Litt skremt over måten han stadig sammenligner oss med Chelskij på..Tror han han er Mourinho? Og Chelskij spiller da vitterlig med kantspillere? Dessuten strider kommentaren om at 6 spillere nok er i meste laget å håpe på, mot det han selv har sagt.

[Mack]

Who are these players I have supposed to have fallen out with? Andy Cole? I rest my case. David Dunn? I rest my case. Craig Bellamy? I rest my case. Andy Todd? I rest my case. Dwight Yorke? We only fell out once at one training session.

"Don't forget I have managed hundreds of players in my 19 years as a manager. So I have fallen out with five of them? I rest my case.

Jeg mener dette er utrolig arrogant å si, og om dette hadde vært en reell intervjusituasjon burde han fått spørsmål tilbake som var like arrogante.

- Hva med all fansen i alle klubber du har trent, Souness? De liker deg ikke! Og det er fordi du ikke leder laget slik at forventninger innfris. Kan du "reste casen" din til det?

- Hva med alle andre spillere som biter sinnet i seg? Ja, det er mange det, Souness. De sitter nemlig bare og venter på at du skal få sparken.

- Hvorfor klarer du ikke å se at du ikke egner deg som manager, Souness?


Mack - sint

[Joakim]

Jeg er skuffet over svarene fra Souness. Han viser null evne til selvinnsikt, og viser null evne til å kunne vurdere seg selv. Og svarene han kommer med i spørsmål ang. Robert, spillesystemet og spillere han har kranglet med er svært arrogante, og gjør meg sint. Det der vil neppe hjelpe for Souness, hvis han prøver å få fansens støtte, men han viser jo på et av de første spørsmålene at han gir blanke f... i fansen, og sier jo indirekte at "fansen får mene hva de vil og tenke hva de vil, de vet jo ikke bedre". Skulle gjerne likt å konfrontere han med en del uttalelser fra Henning Berg.