Atoksyah's Weblog

Jose Enrique

Seorang lagi pemain yang atok tak gemari kerana rupanya ala2 mafia, hehe, juga akan meninggalkan kelab. Pemain pertahanan-kiri-menyerang ini tidak atok nafikan merupakan di antara kunci kepada beberapa persembahan baik Newcastle. Amat kecewa melihat dia pergi, namun pemergiannya itu mungkin akan memberi peluang kepada Shane Ferguson untuk mengganti tempatnya. Pemain muda yang atok gemari ini, akan cerah peluangnya jika Hughton masih di NU. Pardew? Tak rasa dia yakin dengan pemain2 daripada akademi NU.

Jose Enrique khabarnya akan menurut jejak Joey Barton dan Kevin Nolan untuk meninggalkan Newcastle setelah Liverpool bersetuju untuk menawarkan £10juta.

Enrique juga merupakan pemain kedua yang berpindah setelah mengkritik polisi perpindahan kelab melalui Twitter pada minggu lepas, menurut jejak Barton yang mungkin akan meninggalkan kelab setelah disenarikan dalam senarai perpindahan percuma.

Bekas pemain Villareal yang kini berusia 25-tahun itu telah diintai Liverpool sejak penghujung musim lepas, dan sejak itu dia menangguhkan perbincangan sambungan kontrak dengan Newcastle.

Keperluan Liverpool untuk membeli pemain pertahanan amat jelas apabila mereka melepaskan 15 gol dalam perlawanan pra-musim menentang Guangdong Sunray Cave, Malaysia XI, Hull, Galatasaray dan Valerenga.

Shane Ferguson, adakah akan diyakini Pardew untuk mengambil tempat di pertahanan-kiri jika Enrique meninggalkan NU?

Semakin terbukti pandangan tok sebelum ini bahawa Chris Hughton dipecat kerna keengganan menjual pemain2 bintangnya. Sekarang apa sudah jadi? Carroll, Nolan, Enrique meninggalkan kelab, sebelum disertai Barton. Setuju dengan polisi kelab untuk membeli pemain2 muda dan juga mengelakkan kontrak panjang dengan pemain2 yang di penghujung 20-an, tapi simpanlah juga pemain2 utama kelab.

Bekas bos Newcastle United, Chris Hughton telah diberi tugas untuk membimbing Birmingham City kembali ke Premier League pada percubaan pertama setelah disahkan sebagai pengurus baru kelab itu.

Pengurus berusia 52 tahun itu telah membawa Newcastle menjuarai Liga Championship pada Mei lepas tetapi telah dipecat secara mengejut pada Disember dan tidak bekerja sejak itu.

Namun, dia kembali ke Birmingham, di mana dia diminta untuk meniru kejayaannya di Newcastle.

Kenyataan laman web rasmi Birmingham menyatakan: “Birmingham City gembira untuk mengumumkan pelantikan Chris Hughton sebagai pengurus baru kelab. Syarat2 telah dipersetujui dengan jurulatih berusia 52 tahun itu pada hari ini dan Hughton mengambil alih tugas dengan segera.”

“Melalui perbualan dengan bekas pengurus Newcastle United itu, pemangku pengerusi Peter Pannu merasakan bahawa Hughton merupakan calon yang sesuai untuk berkuasa di St Andrew’s dan dia sekarang melihat ke depan untuk berkongsi cita2 pengurus baru itu.”

“Pannu kagum dengan visi Hughton dan teori bolasepaknya dalam membangunkan pemain muda dan bermain secara berkesan dan menarik.”

Atok bersetuju dengan pendapat ini, di mana ketika di bawah Hughton, ramai pemain muda mendapat peluang untuk beraksi. Hughton juga turut menerapkan kestabilan di bahagian pertahanan, dan juga tidak kekok mencuba formasi baru untuk menambah ketajaman di bahagian serangan.

Bekas penolong di Tottenham itu turut akan menerima tekanan membimbing Birmingham di Europe, selepas merangkul Carling Cup memastikan mereka dalam Liga Europa 2011-12.

Related articles

• Birmingham Hire Chris Hughton As Their New Manager (sbnation.com)
• Hughton lands Blues job (mirror.co.uk)
• Hughton set to be Blues boss (mirror.co.uk)
• Hughton set to Blues boss (mirror.co.uk)
• Chris Hughton favourite for Birmingham job (independent.co.uk)
• Birmingham consider Ince appointment (guardian.co.uk)
• Hughton holds Blues talks (skysports.com)
• Birmingham City target six to replace Alex McLeish as manager (guardian.co.uk)

Chris Hughton membimbing NUFC menjuarai Coca-Cola Football League Championship

Bekas pengurus Newcastle United itu telah dikaitkan dengan beberapa kerja pada musim panas ini dan khabarnya hampir menjadi pengurus West Brom sebelum mereka memilih Roy Hodgson pada wal tahun ini.

Dia juga dipercayai ditawarkan peluang bekerja dengan Martin Jol di Fulham.

Tapi sekarang dia mungkin ditawarkan peluang menggantikan Alex McLeish at di St Andrews.

Hughton mempunyai pengalaman cemerlang di Liga Championship dengan kejayaannya membawa naik Newcastle United ke Liga Premier, hanya pada kali pertama menjadi pengurus, dan hanya dalam 1 musim.

Selain Hughton, calon2 lain untuk mengisi posisi tersebut adalah Steve Cotterill (Portsmouth), Roberto Di Matteo, Gianfranco Zola dan juga Alan Curbishley.

Related articles

• Chris Hughton favourite for Birmingham job (independent.co.uk)
• Birmingham City target six to replace Alex McLeish as manager (guardian.co.uk)
• Birmingham City consider Gianfranco Zola and Chris Hughton for managerial post (telegraph.co.uk)
• Birmingham have six managers on short-list (independent.co.uk)
• Six in frame for Blues job (mirror.co.uk)
• Birmingham City identify six possible replacements for Aston Villa target Alex McLeish (telegraph.co.uk)
• Hughton in the frame for Birmingham hotseat (fanatix.com)

Newcastle United mengikat pemain tengah, Cheik Tiote dengan sambungan kontrak 6 setengah tahun.

Tiote, 24-tahun, pemain kebangsaan Ivory Coast, telah menarik perhatian Chelsea dan Manchester United pada musim ini.

Ketika para peminat masih kecewa dengan pemergian Andy Carroll ke Liverpool, dan Joey Barton dan Jose Enrique memilh untuk menangguhkan sebarang perbincangan berkenaan sambungan kontrak sehingga musim panas nanti, pengurus mereka gembira setelah berjaya mengikat Tiote untuk jangka panjang.

Tiote dibawa masuk oleh pengendali sebelumnya, Chris Hughton, untuk £3.5juta dari FC Twente pada musim panas lalu. Dia merupakan pesaing kuat untuk anugerah pemain terbaik Newcastle pada musim ini.

Related articles

• Pardew facing Tiote poser (skysports.com)
• Newcastle’s biggest transfer battle this summer (footballfancast.com)

Newcastle United fans made their feelings about Mike Ashley known by staging protests against the club’s owner before the team’s match against Liverpool at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Supporters gathered in Newcastle city centre and outside before the match to vent their frustration at Ashley, which came to a head when popular manager Chris Hughton was replaced by Alan Pardew earlier in the week.

Northumbria Police officers and club stewards kept a watchful eye over proceedings, but the demonstrations passed without any major incidents.

Supporters brought signs demanding that Ashley sell the club and sever his ties on Tyneside, and wore t-shirts in support of Hughton.

There were chants of “There’s only one Chris Hughton” and “We hate Ashley” as dissatisfied fans took to the streets, while inside the ground there were choruses of “get out of our club”aimed at the controversial owner, who was in attendance.

Pardew said in the build-up to the match when asked about the planned prtoest: “If there is a protest for Chris in terms of a nice protest and fans want to show him their support, then I don’t have a problem with that. That is their right.

“But I hope that anything like that is over with quickly and they start supporting their team. It is not about me, after all, it is about the club. And we are going to need a lot of help to get past Liverpool, who have just hit a bit of form.”

Newcastle went on to win the match 3-1, and moved above Liverpool and up to eighth in the Premier League table.

FIRST the good news for those of a black and white persuasion.

Newcastle United possessed the fighting spirit required to avoid a third successive home defeat, which would have increased concerns around St James’ Park.

Now the bad. Any more home performances like this, on the back of three defeats in four Premier League matches, including two at home to Stoke City and Blackpool, and the Magpies will have a genuine fight against relegation on their hands.

There have been promising aspects and plenty of reasons to be encouraged from the opening two months of the season, but weaknesses and cracks are emerging that need addressing by manager Chris Hughton.

The first half display against Wigan was the most worrying yet, highlighting how improvements are needed if a more damaging slide down the topflight table is to be avoided.

Once Ali Al-Habsi, the Latics goalkeeper, had got down well to hold a shot that was stabbed in his direction from Andy Carroll after 15 minutes Newcastle lost their way.

Carroll and Peter Lovenkrands, handed a start at the expense of his frustrated and dropped captain Kevin Nolan, were starved of any real service. Only Jonas Gutierrez of the four midfielders was capable of creating anything, while defensively Newcastle looked a shambles.

It did improve markedly after the restart, but by that time Newcastle’s disjointed and sluggish start had basically gifted Wigan a two-goal advantage at the break.

On the two occasions Franco di Santo had sent deliveries in to the Newcastle penalty area, Wigan had no right to score.

That, though, is exactly what they did. Twice in a little more than 100 first half seconds.

It was Charles N’Zogbia, back at St James’ Park for the first time since his departure in January last year, who capitalised on the sloppiness on both occasions.

First his diminutive frame was somehow allowed to head di Santo’s delivery into Tim Krul’s far corner by a static James Perch and Mike Williamson, who both stood by him.

Then the Frenchman added a second after Joey Barton lost out to James McCarthy in the middle and Perch was caught out of position high up the pitch.

Di Santo again picked out N’- Zogbia, who took a touch before unleashing a rasping drive into Krul’s top right corner, despite Williamson’s last-ditch rush to block.

N’Zogbia, who left under a storm after demanding a move following Joe Kinnear’s mispronunciation of his name, had silenced the Newcastle supporters who had given him a rough time.

He had also offered a further reminder of his value to Wigan, with the £9m-rated winger interesting Bayern Munich, Sunderland and Tottenham.

“He understands why he would get a bad reception, but he’s got experience and in a way he sees it as a football compliment,”

said Wigan manager Martinez.

“We knew how the fans would react and he relished the challenge. This was a game that he clearly enjoyed.”

Had it not been for Gutierrez, Newcastle would never have been able to force their way back into the match.

Following the confirmation that Hatem Ben Arfa will be missing for six months, Dan Gosling is weeks away from recovery and Wayne Routledge struggling for form, a lot of the attacking play will rest on the Argentine’s shoulders.

And, while he clearly has his shortcomings in the final third, his unpredictability means he is more often than not Newcastle’s most creative player.

That was certainly the case against Wigan. He had threatened to make an impact and then, following Shola Ameobi’s introduction from the bench, Gutierrez’s time arrived.

Eighteen minutes from the end he picked out Ameobi, who had worked ahead of his marker and headed down beyond Al- Habsi. Even then, though, there was still a lack of impetus until the closing stages.

Carroll had wasted a couple of decent opportunities, before Gutierrez floated over a sweet corner with 3mins 20secs of the four minutes of injury-time played. Carroll did well to turn goalwards and Fabricio Coloccini was on hand to power the equaliser past Al-Habsi.

While the rest of his teammates went crazy on the pitch, Gutierrez charged towards the dug-out and celebrated passionately in front of the coaching staff.

“I think the celebration was just delight,” said Hughton, who named him on the bench in the home defeat to Stoke City.

“My impression was that he is just ecstatic that we were able to get back into the game.

“If you look at the emotions of him and Colocinni when we scored that is what it meant to the team. Points in this division are valuable and to come back and get the point at that stage of the game showed what it meant to everybody.

“Jonas has certainly showed he is the sort of player who can break down resolute defences.

I think his form has got better.

I rested him at Everton and I would say since then he has been very good.

“One thing with Jonas is that you will always get a committed player, a player who absolutely loves playing.”

Having witnessed his team somehow come back from two goals down to avoid a fourth defeat in five Premier League matches, Hughton accepts he needs to find improvements.

He said: “There are concerns.

That we conceded two very poor goals, we allowed them too much possession and they showed some quality. They regained possession very well and passed it very well.

“We know that we will have to pick up a good percentage of points against this group of teams who we can expect to be around us.”

Either side of a Carling Cup date with Arsenal, Newcastle travel to West Ham next Saturday before taking on rivals Sunderland at St James’ Park on October 31. Those two matches could be pivotal in the Magpies’ season.

Newcastle United boss Chris Hughton says Shane Ferguson will see more Carling Cup action this week against Arsenal.

Hughton thinks that he deserves his chance after coming on leaps and bounds in recent years.

“We’ve been delighted with his progress this season,” Hughton said.

“He’s a small lad but he’s a tigerish player. He’s never been a problem, he trains very well and he’s got a lot going for him.”

Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton said it would have been a “travesty” if his team had not left Stamford Bridge with a League Cup victory.

The visitors missed two great opportunities to extend their 3-1 lead to allow Chelsea back into the game before the home side levelled with a disputed penalty after Alex was tugged in the penalty area.

An injury-time goal from Shola Ameobi sent Newcastle through, and Hughton believed it was no more than his side deserved.

“The equaliser was as soft a penalty as you see,” Hughton told reporters after the game. “At that stage, we hang on to the game and win 3-2. Had we not gone through, it would have been a travesty.

“We showed great character and good finishing to get back into the game. But both of us could have done without extra time, especially them as they were down to 10 men [due to injuries].”

Hughton said he had no qualms about making 10 changes to the team that beat Everton on Saturday, with Fabricio Coloccini the only survivor from that win.

“This was a game we felt we could win irrespective of the side we put out. It speaks volumes for the changing room and the players I’ve got in that changing room. Hopefully it will give us a momentum going into the rest of the season.

“In particular, Haris [Vuckic] and Alan [Smith] in the middle of the park and young [Shane] Ferguson who floats between left-back and left-winger; he more than anyone will be pleased with that.”

Chris Hughton

Chris Hughton is hoping to sign an extension to his contract as the Newcastle United manager this autumn but will not attempt to force the club’s hand. 

Hughton’s deal runs out next summer and there are suggestions that negotiations over a new, improved agreement have stalled but a manager much admired within football remains sanguine. 

“At the moment I’m just getting on with the job,” he said. “Yes, my contract is up at the end of the season but my priority is just to get on and do the best job that I can and let other things take care of themselves. 

“From my point of view where I want to be is manager of Newcastle United. That is where I am and I would like that to continue. But the most important thing is to get the results because I am also conscious that, as managers, we can go through bad periods. Things can change very quickly in football so all I want to do is concentrate on the job at the moment.”