Shipwreck on the Tyne: the good ship Magpie goes down

Things just aren't right at St. James' Park, are they?

Four losses in a row, a brand new interim manager to replace the previous interim manager who stepped in when the Toon idol finally had enough and walked out the door. Top it off with an owner (or is it wealthy cheerleader?) who can't sell fast enough.

What can players like Michael Owen, Nicky Butt and Damien Duff, players who have all won trophies and played at the highest levels, think about what's going on at Newcastle?

About a month and a half ago, I quite cynically predicted Newcastle would be relegated this year. I think anyone who tries to predict anything needs to make one bold call, make a call to set themselves apart from the crowd. Most pundits had Newcastle pegged to finish 11th or 12th come May; I had them 18th. At this point, I may have been optimistic.

In the Magpies' defence, they have had a tough schedule to this point. A gutsy draw against Manchester United, a win at home to a soft Bolton and a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Arsenal at the Emirates. I don't think anyone would have seen those results differently (the opening draw aside).

In the past three games, the wheels have fallen off. A home loss to Hull, a 3-1 defeat at Upton Park against another mid-table side engulfed in off-field turmoil, and finally losing 2-1 today to Blackburn.

Sandwiched in there as well was another home loss to the equally woeful Tottenham, 2-1 in the Carling Cup on Wednesday.

No wonder Terry Venables turned down the job...

Along the way, manager Kevin Keegan imploded, blaming the transfer policies of owner Mike Ashley and his hench-thingy Dennis Wise for his typically odd resignation saga. It was never going to work out for Keegan, despite the hopes and dreams of his adoring public. But in the end, the fate of Newcastle United was never really Keegan's fault anyway.

I think in order to understand how Newcastle got to this point, you need to look back to 2004, when Sir Bobby Robson was sacked for failing to qualify for the Champions League. Since then, they've finished in 14th, 7th, 13th and 12th. They've also had five managers.

At one time this was a team capable of playing in Europe. No longer. At one point this was a team to be feared in the Premier League and St. James' Park was a tough place to play. No more.

New interim manager Joe Kinnear has his work cut out for him. The first thing he needs to do is treat every game a point he needs to claim. He needs to send teams out on the park willing to scrap for a draw and to nick a win if they're lucky. This team needs to get into relegation battle mode now, because by January it may be too late.

The manager and the players can't control events off the pitch, so it's best to ignore them as best you can.

Last season, Liverpool suffered through a spell of owner antics. After claiming only one point after three matches in the group stages of the Champions League, they won their remaining three to qualify for the knockout phase. Meanwhile, the Reds' American owners were rumoured to be hunting for a new manager, fans were protesting, points were dropped in the league. But the team accomplished the task at hand.

Newcastle would be advised to draw inspiration from that situation. The players need to ensure the team's Premier League survival, owner be damned. It's going to be the longest of seasons on Tyneside.

Canada puts themselves behind the 8-ball

It's been a bit since my last post; the end of August proved to be a busy time in both my life and the world of football.

Canada has put themselves in quite a predicament, after poor displays against both Jamaica in Toronto and, most recently, Honduras in Montreal. Against Jamaica, a moment of madness from veteran keeper Paul Dolan cost them points, while on Saturday the game plan started to crumble after winger Tomasz Radzinski sliced his hand open on the advertising boards.

Both matches (I was at the Jamaica game and only caught Saturday's game on the telly) showed that while Canada has more attacking potential than perhaps any time in the past, they still need that bit of quality when it comes to finishing. Canada had more scoring chances than their opponents in each match, but failed to convert chances into goals. Honduras on the other hand, had but maybe four good chances on goal and took two of them.

The other criticism I have of Canada's play, especially against Honduras, was the way the team slipped back into a fruitless, direct style of play after Radzinski went off. Before that moment, Canada controlled possession, was pushing the ball down the wings and creating chances. Afterwards, some fifteen minutes into the match and with a deserved 1-0 lead, they sat deeper and were content to hoof the ball up to striker Rob Friend, who seemed to operate without support. This allowed the Hondurans back into the game and effectively squashed Canada's chances once they went behind 2-1.

If Canada play like they did Saturday against the Mexicans on Wednesday night, their World Cup campaign will come to a screeching halt with three games remaining. If they use the talents of Julian De Guzman, Dwayne De Rosario and Atiba Hutchinson to control play, coming away with a point would save them from another four years of regret.

Don't get me wrong. With only one point from their first two home matches Canada will not be favoured to move on in the competition. Effectively, they need to aim for a pair of draws or an unlikely win in Edmonton against Mexico, plus a win in Honduras and again away to Jamaica.

That's a tall order, but CONCACAF is not a confederation where there's a unassailable gulf of talent between these teams. Canada, on their day, can beat any of the teams in their region, just as Trinidad and Tobago or Cuba or Guatemala can show up and play against the likes of the U.S. or Costa Rica. This ain't over for Canada yet, they've just made it a lot harder on themselves.