Moyes in?

If we do wave goodbye to the Silver Fox in the summer (or sooner), then we could definitely do worse than handing the managerial reins to David Moyes, who now finds himself at a loose end despite our best efforts to keep him in gainful employment the other week.

Damage limitation

Reflections on Saturday's last-gasp win over Palace to come, but first something which should have gone up last week. It's not often we doff our cap to the club for the way they handle things, but in the case of the Silver Fox's recent tete-a-tete with David Meyler I think some credit is due. The independent FA commission that decided on his punishment has released details of the mitigating circumstances, which include the verbal and written apologies and the swiftness with which the club imposed its own punishment. It seems that someone immediately identified what redressive action could be taken and made sure we did so as quickly as possible. Without that, he'd clearly have been facing up to a longer ban.

The Silver Fox isn't alone in having been handed an FA punishment of late, though. Fair play to Dan Gosling for having solidarity with his manager, picking up a £30,000 fine for his gambling misdemeanours...

Apology accepted

So Ol' Cauliflower Face and, by implication, David Meyler have accepted a written apology from the Silver Fox for the incident that has seen him receive a three-match stadium ban and a further four-match touchline ban. As the saying goes, sorry means you won't do it again - while an exact repeat is highly unlikely, the Silver Fox must be under no illusions that his pitchside conduct has to improve if he wants to avoid further punishment from the FA and potentially the sack from the club. Let's hope a line can now be drawn under the whole affair.

Lucky seven?

So it's a £60,000 fine and a seven-match ban for the Silver Fox, and for the first three games (Fulham away followed by Crystal Palace and Everton at home) he can't even be in the stadium. The length of the ban is a Premier League record for a manager, but comes as little surprise - indeed he might have expected worse, such has been the media hysteria surrounding the incident.

Our position remains the same: while the so-called headbutt has undoubtedly been blown out of proportion by some in the media, it was nevertheless an act of rash stupidity that has brought shame on the club and undermined his status as someone our players are supposed to look up to and respect. The Silver Fox has sailed close to the wind on a number of occasions - let's hope this is the wake-up call he needs to improve his touchline conduct.

Of course, in the Silver Fox's absence all the focus and scrutiny will be on his deputy John Carver, hardly the least combustible character himself. What odds on him picking up an FA charge of his own?

Quote of the day

"What I try to teach the players is to be responsible for your actions – don’t try to blame anyone else. And so I’m going to go somewhere else to try to be a great coach."

No, not the Silver Fox, but recently departed reserve team manager Willie Donachie, who resigned last month after a post-match confrontation with Remie Streete got out of hand. As some on Twitter have pointed out, it's hard to see why Donachie was suspended when the Silver Fox was only fined and given a formal warning for his own dust-up at Hull on Saturday. One difference is that Donachie's disagreement was with one of our own players, whereas the Silver Fox's aggression was directed towards someone in the opposition ranks, and an ex-Mackem to boot. That hardly makes it any less serious, and indeed the fact that the Silver Fox's moment of madness was beamed into pubs and living rooms around the world on Match Of The Day arguably makes it more so.

As for Donachie, he was effusive about the welcome and support he'd had on Tyneside, and commented: "They’re really the club – the fans." A subtle dig at Jabba and his fellow suits on the board?

Heads (we win)

Hull City 1 - 4 Newcastle Utd

A magnificent away performance, including scoring four away from home for the first time this season, was sadly overshadowed by one rush of blood to the head of the Silver Fox.

However, before we get on to the negative, full credit should first be given to what was a brilliant away performance. Deprived of Sideshow Bob due to a family bereavement, Mike Williamson was this time partnered by MYM, with Paul Dummett continuing at left back in the absence of the injured Santon. Further forward, Loic Remy was partnered by Luuk de Jong, with Papiss Cisse dropping to the bench.

After an early Goofy miss, it was Hull who were on the front foot first with manager's son Alex Bruce drawing an outstanding double save from Tim Krul. Having gathered the ball at the second attempt, our Dutch custodian launched the ball forward and after a swift succession of passes the ball was fed to Mathieu Debuchy charging down the right. He cut the ball back to Moussa Sissoko who slammed the ball into the back of the net.

The home side came back, with both Nikica Jelavic and Ahmed Elmohamady heading wide when unchallenged and well placed. However, with half time looming, Maynor Figueroa's underhit back-pass allowed Remy to nip in and take the ball round home 'keeper (and shit Steve Harper) Allan McGregor and slot into the empty net.

Doubtless suitably inspired by the prospect of getting back into the fresh air having spent 15 minutes in a confined space with Ol' Cauliflower Face, Hull pulled a goal back when Curtis Davis rose highest to nod home Tom Huddlestone's free-kick beyond Tim Krul's flapping leap.

However, rather than let the home side press for an equaliser, we continued to play well, with Mini V performing particularly adeptly in midfield alongside Mr T.

Goofy it was who proved the catalyst for the next goal, with his long-range shot being spilled by McGregor straight into the path of the onrushing Sissoko, who calmly notched his second.

At which point things took a turn for the surreal.

In short, the ball squirmed out for a home throw in right in front of our technical area. Hull player David Meyler ran after the ball and shoved the Silver Fox out of his way with both hands, before collecting the ball. Pardew reacted strongly to the shove and walked towards Meyler, and effectively appeared to attempt to push him back, using his forehead instead of his hands. At which point, Meyler pushed Pardew again and embarked on a prolonged bout of finger-pointing and appeared to be suggesting that the two carry on their tete-a-tete outside.

The upshot of all this saw Meyler booked and the Silver Fox banished from the touchline.

With the Silver Fox now watching from the stands, Dan Gosling drove into the box before slipping and nocking the ball into the path of Dummett. His shot was deflected away but fell to Mini V at the back post who scored his first Premier League goal for the club, capping an outstanding display from the Dutchman.

However, it's a result which will be remembered for Pardew's moment of madness rather than anything any of our players did on the pitch.

Within hours the club had issued a statement confirming that the Silver Fox had been fined £100,000 and issued with a formal written warning. With the FA also paying close attention, the consequences for the club, and the Silver Fox in particular, look to become even worse.

While there is clearly no excusing Pardew for his actions, at the same time the mass hysteria which seemed to engulf certain elements of the media would suggest to anyone who hadn't seen it that the head butt was on a par with Zidane v Materazzi in the World Cup final, rather than a rather pathetic coming together between a man in his fifties who should know better and a Premier League footballer who shouldn't have pushed him in the first place. However, regardless of the shove, Pardew simply should not have responded. Whatever apology he issued afterwards will never remove the stain that this incident places on his CV going forward.  He's been heavily fined by the club (who frankly were never going to sack a man who has guided a club making profit to eighth in the table) and will undoubtedly be heavily sanctioned by the FA.

A dark mark against what should have been a real cause for celebration.

A Hull fan's perspective: Amber Nectar

Other reports: BBC, Guardian

Quote of the day

"I am sad to see anybody lose their job and he did a lot of good work here – but the decision was the board’s decision."

Let's unpick this statement about JFK from the Silver Fox, delivered during his pre-Chelsea press conference.

1. Come on, you're not "sad" at all and you're fooling no one by pretending you are. You're as delighted as the rest of us that you've won that particular battle.

2. Likewise, you're fooling no one with that platitude about him doing "a lot of good work". He did fuck all - unless, that is, you consider pissing off countless players and staff by mispronouncing their names to have been a positive contribution.

3. "The decision was the board's decision" - when you say "the board", you mean "Jabba", right? And so JFK didn't jump but was indeed pushed after all? That would confirm that Jabba has at least some semblance of common sense, and that, as many of us suspected, our outgoing director of football didn't have the decency to admit he was failing in his remit and do the honourable thing by resigning.

The Silver Fox did also say, though, that he wasn't opposed to the idea of working with a replacement, if the role is retained and filled - and indeed he suggested, in a slightly wistful tone, that gone are the days of managers being intimately involved in transfer negotiations. Not a viewpoint you'd expect King Kev ever to endorse...

(You gotta) fight for your right (to play)

That's the message from the Silver Fox to those currently on the fringes of the first team. He was prompted to come over all Beastie Boys by media mischief-making from Saylor's agent Willie McKay (yes, him again), who went public on his client's dissatisfaction at being left kicking his heels on the bench. McKay had suggested that Saylor was eyeing up a loan move, and indeed 'Appy 'Arry was then promptly credited with an interest in inflating QPR's already ludicrous Championship wage bill even further, but the Silver Fox was quick to quash that possibility.

In doing so, he also named MYM, HBA and Papiss Cisse, which implies that they too may have expressed disgruntlement at their current predicament, albeit privately rather than in public. It's hardly surprising, and as the cliche goes, having his players fit and champing at the bit to be involved is a nice problem for the Silver Fox to have. That said, it's still a problem, and one he needs to manage carefully. Those currently in possession of the shirts, perhaps against the odds (Big Lad and Mike Williamson in particular), have repaid the manager's faith and fully merit their selection - but if we're to safeguard against the inevitability of injuries and loss of form in the second half of the season. it's vital that we don't weaken our squad in January by letting those on the fringes leave. (Obertan Kenobi being the obvious exception...)

As for Saylor, our advice would be for him to gag McKay, knuckle down and learn the error of his ways. Admittedly he's been injured for much of the season, but his absence from the first team is also attributable to that stupid red card earned in our very first game of the season - a game which was already proving a very tough challenge with eleven men, let alone ten. Since that Monday in August, he hadn't pulled on a black and white shirt for competitive action until yesterday, when named (together with Spidermag) as one of the overage players in the U21 squad that beat Norwich in front of 125 spectators - a fact he will hopefully reflect on next time he thinks about doing something rash.

Fright night

It seems our Wednesday evening ordeal wasn't ended by the final whistle at the Liberty Stadium, with high winds making the flight back to Tyneside, and the landing in particular, somewhat hairy. While the Silver Fox  refuted claims that some players had been screaming (a claim nevertheless repeated in the Daily Heil), he did his best to embarrass his assistant: "John Carver had a little bit of a wobble, he wasn't so brave and looked a bit white when we got off." It remains to be seen whether that was due to the flight or to the prospect of a trip to Old Trafford off the back of a beating from the previously poor-at-home Swans...

Alan attack

If you can overlook the occasional bit of groundless guff (e.g. the suggestion that he personally had a hand in ousting Chris Hughton) and the fact that it's now more than two months old, this Vice article on the Silver Fox is an entertaining read, not least for the marvellous turns of phrase. For instance: "At that point, I imagine, he lay in bed at night, thinking of what might have been, haunted by visions of Steve Claridge and Manish Bhasin patting an empty seat in their Football League Show sex dungeon."

I'm still not quite sure what the Silver Fox is guilty of to have aroused so much animus - surely there are plenty of other figures within football, and indeed within football management, who are significantly more unpleasant and Machiavellian than our manager. It's also worth noting that, despite being written two months ago, it's still sadly spot on about Papiss Cisse's shattered confidence.

(Thanks to Leon for the link.)

Enough's enough

Today's match will see fans protesting against Jabba's reign under the banner "Time4Change". Earlier in the week, the organisers explained the motivation behind and aims of the protest to the Ronny Gill, and it all made good sense to the pair of us here at Black & White & Read All Over, as it has to NUST and the proprietors of .com.

We're perhaps less vehemently opposed to Jabba than many supporters and recognise the positives of his period of ownership - namely getting our finances in order, removing debt (except to him) and maintaining accessibility (as evidenced by the BBC's latest Price Of Football survey results and our taking the lead in the move towards more affordable prices for away tickets).

However, those positives are outweighed by the negatives: the sackings of King Kev and Chris Hughton, the rebranding of the stadium, the sponsorship deal with Wonga, the appointment of JFK and (perhaps most significantly, as the protest's organisers point out) a lack of ambition and direction that has seen us fail to capitalise on an admittedly fortuitous fifth-placed finish. Promises of investment have been repeatedly made and repeatedly broken, with little evidence that we've learned from previous mistakes.

In last weekend's interview on Sky Sports, the Silver Fox saluted the business acumen that makes Jabba a "genius" (a questionable claim, given that Sports Direct's success is largely founded on ruthless and unethical practices such as zero hours contracts), but also said our owner "sometimes can't understand how [football] works and it confuses and upsets him, and when he is upset he does things that aren't brilliant for the football club". We can only speculate as to what Jabba made of being portrayed as some kind of baffled toddler by his employee, but when even the manager is prepared to make such a statement you know it is indeed time for change.

Richards a potential recruit?

Earlier this week we were linked with a move for Man City defender Micah Richards. While I don't want to lend too much credence to a claim made by TalkSport, it is worth pondering all the same - if only because, if true, it would suggest a recognition on the part of the powers-that-be that Mathieu Debuchy needs to be forced to drastically up his game, and perhaps a tacit acknowledgement that we were wrong to let Danny Simpson go.

As regards Richards himself and whether he'd be the man for the job, some would argue that he's lost his way in recent years and wouldn't be worth the risk. However, I'd prefer to focus on his misfortune at having the league's best right back Pablo Zabaleta in front of him at City and both Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker in front of him for England. (Incidentally, for that reason I think the article's suggestion that he might choose to move to Liverpool or Spurs is ridiculous.)

Richards' nationality is of significance too, given the Silver Fox's admission at the weekend that "we are starting to get filled up with too many foreign players". Slightly surprising, that, given previous pronouncements on the make-up of the squad. It's as though someone's reminded him of his attack on Arsene Wenger and Arsenal back in 2006, when he was manager of West Ham: "It's important that top clubs don't lose sight of the fact that it's the English Premier League and English players should be involved". Not that that seems likely to deter us from wanting to sign Loic Remy on a permanent deal, mind (see below)...

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Well, at least the powers that be were decent enough not to make the Silver Fox to defend our transfer window failings to a cackling media in person. Instead, a short formal statement appeared on the official site in his name. I imagine the situation being akin to a man being forced at gunpoint to sign his own death warrant. It's beyond me why he should even have to go through the farce of pretending to be content with what he's got and why JFK isn't the one thrown to the press pack like a particularly juicy bone.

Anyway, let's take a look at what the Silver Fox (allegedly) had to say...

"We are delighted to have brought Loic Remy to the club in this window and we believe he will form an exciting and effective partnership with Papiss Cisse."

How to begin? By accentuating the positives, of course - namely, by reminding fans of the one (admittedly quality) player we did bring in. Just surprising there's no mention of Dreamboat not departing - though perhaps that's because his continued presence on Tyneside is very much against his will...

"Joe has worked hard on numerous targets, particularly an additional offensive player. However some of the options that were available within our financial means were not as good as the players we already had and there is no point bringing in new players unless they can improve us and take us forward."

Financial constraints are one thing, but spending no cash whatsoever is another. Also, "some of the options" - what about the other options, then? Presumably they were better than what we already have, but we just didn't get our arses in gear to get them. In that final statement there's the implication that, far from us being the foolish ones, it's actually other clubs that have been left with egg on their faces, for shelling out small fortunes on recruits who will make negligible impact. That may be the case with some of Monday's panic buys, but it doesn't excuse the fact that we have discernible weaknesses and should have made decisive moves to identify and then sign players to plug the gaps.

"We did the majority of our business in the January window, signing five excellent first team players."

Hang on a minute. Wasn't the raft of January signings (all sound additions, I'd agree) a response to the fact that we'd complacently rested on our laurels last summer, signing just Vurnon Anita, and then been stung by injuries and loss of form? At the time there was talk of deals being "accelerated forwards", but it's curious that this hasn't been mentioned all summer and is only rearing its head now that the window's closed, isn't it? There were hints in January that we'd learned from the lessons of last summer - not so, it seems.

"With the strong squad we have we should all approach the season in a positive, optimistic frame of mind."

Ah yes, that's right - if all else fails, bury your head in the sand about the squad's deficiencies, contradicting everything you've said over the past four months, and just rely on blind, stupid faith. Because, of course, that always works out well. The use of the word "should" (rather than "can") is particularly telling - we're being instructed how to view the forthcoming campaign, with any dissent and negativity depicted as detrimental to the club.

One thing conspicuous by its absence in all that, then: an apology.

Critical reflection

One of the weekend's talking points was Paolo Di Canio's public slating of his players following the Mackems' defeat to Crystal Palace, a side widely expected to be among the division's whipping boys. The unhinged loon displayed his very tenuous grasp of psychology and man management by criticising both Ji Dong-Won (for ducking out of a header) and captain John O'Shea (for making a bad cock-up and then giving away a penalty and getting sent off when trying to recover) in his post-match interview. Both players did indeed deserve a rollicking - but that's what the dressing room's for.

While Di Canio came under fire from hacks and pundits, rather less was said about the fact that the Silver Fox actually did much the same. HBA was not only our matchwinner against Fulham, he was also the player who carried the most threat and spark all afternoon - and yet after the game his manager decided to declare our mercurial forward had "made some poor decisions" and reveal that he'd given him a half-time dressing-down, accusing him of slowing down our attacks.

I suppose the difference is that the Silver Fox could say it with a wry and relieved smile on his face rather than a scowl. All the same, I don't think public criticism is what a player as psychologically fragile as HBA needs, and certainly not when he's ultimately made the game's key contribution. On the contrary, the occasion surely called for the confidence boost of a manager raving about another superlative goal added to a growing collection.

Quote of the day

"I would expect to be down the road with a transfer when we are in Portugal. I am hoping that Joe and Lee Charnley get something over the line."

The Silver Fox seems to be in much the same boat as us, then - hoping and praying that signings come soon, rather than confident deals will materialise. Needless to say, that's just not good enough - a fact only underlined by the fact that down the road 5under1and are busy snapping up anything that moves.

The manager bites back

As you might have anticipated, the Silver Fox's first public pronouncements since the reappointment of JFK made for interesting reading.

Much of his energy was, predictably, directed at vigorously defending his own apparently precarious status and position amidst the shake-up: "I'm my own man and I will manage this football club to the best of my ability". (Some would suggest that "the best of my ability" doesn't really amount to an awful lot, but I'll let that go.)

However, he also took the opportunity to take a couple of nicely subtle swipes at the man Jabba's brought in for him to report to. The first was evidence of his disgruntlement at the way his players have had their names mangled: "Some of the things Joe said, he's apologised for, especially getting the names wrong of our players. That needs to be corrected, because there's a certain respect needed there". Consider your wrist slapped, JFK.

The second jibe was buried within the Silver Fox's attempt to rationalise the departure of Derek Llambias: "Mike feels Joe probably knows the scene better than Derek. That might be Mike's opinion, but as far as I'm concerned the most important factor for Joe is transfers". In other words, and by implication, Jabba's opinion that JFK is an upgrade on Llambiarse is wrong. I don't doubt it.

The Silver Fox also struggled to communicate exactly how the new off-pitch structure will operate in practice. Certainly it seems somewhat convoluted, with individual roles somewhat ill-defined and a very real danger of too many cooks spoiling the broth - not least when one of said cooks is JFK. How long before the Silver Fox does a Keegan, driven out by what he perceives to be unwelcome and unwarranted meddling and interference?

Quote of the day

"I am not after his job. Alan knew there was a director of football coming in. He felt a little isolated and Mike sussed that."

JFK speaks.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, which the Guardian have since picked up on, our new director of football clarifies that he's only here to support the Silver Fox and hits back at the criticism he's received from the Lion of Gosforth.

While his criticisms of Shearer may have some validity in a coaching sense, the fact that he continues to air them through the press rather than simply maintain a dignified silence continues to be a nightmare. Frankly whoever is controlling media relations at St James' Park wants to place a muzzle on JFK as soon as possible.

As it is, his portrayal of Jabba as a sympathetic employer trying to put a comforting arm around the Silver Fox by employing JFK seems akin to the moment where a mafia boss hugs a previously trusted lieutenant before he is taken away and shot for some past misdemeanour.

Ich bin ein Director

It's official.  JFK has been confirmed as our new director of football on a three-year contract.

Some things really are enough to make you want to swear. A lot.

JFK managed to jump the gun slightly, going on TalkSport yesterday to talk about his role, the players in our squad and his own staggeringly large ego and Stalinist approach to historical revisionism.

If his failure to identify players names correctly wasn't just cringingly embarrassing, it might be OK. After all, the story about Big Lad hooking up with England Under 21s and telling Howard Wilkinson that SBR called him Carl Cort is a classic, and one told with warmth and affection by the player.

With JFK though, it's different. He already has form for helping to push an admittedly disgruntled player out of the club by getting his name wrong, and now he's at it again, managing to mangle the majority of the playing staff and fellow board member Llambiarse into the bargain.

Other horrendous examples of the man not knowing his arse from his elbow include the description of Big Lad as "a young kid ... getting better and better". Last time I checked he was in his thirties and entering the last year of his contract. Perhaps he meant Little Big Lad, who is younger and hopefully still improving, albeit from his Twitter account is already unimpressed with JFK's inability to get his name right.

According to the man himself, he has spent his whole life picking up the phone to Taggart and that his name will open a few doors for us in the transfer market. Firstly I suspect that most managers have had better things to do than talk to JFK every day for, well frankly, ever. Secondly, I can't for one second see how a man whose managerial pinnacle was with Wimbledon fifteen years ago is a bigger draw that a man who has taken a side to an FA Cup final and last season reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Perhaps his comment "I can open the door to any football manager in the world" was just another example of him getting his words muddled and he meant to say "I can open the door for...", which makes more sense.

It should also be pointed out that any idiot can see that we need a striker adding this summer. Even I managed that, and I haven't played 400 games for Spurs.

As TBW has suggested, perhaps this is an example of Jabba reasserting his authority over the Silver Fox while also removing an excuse for failure next season.

What is clear is that if JFK is to sit above Graham Carr and the manager, then it's to be hoped that they can relate, or that Jabba and Llambiarse at least recognise that of those three the most important to our long-term future is Carr.

If JFK can keep his head down and be kept away from the press he loves so much, then we might be able to ignore him. Given that his every utterance is a PR disaster in the making, we must also hope that Wonga also use every ounce of their corporate muscle to get the club to keep a muzzle on the man.

And there was me hoping for a quiet summer.

'Kin hell, it's Joe Kinnear again

First of all, an apology on behalf of Paul. When he was putting together his proposals for what needed to happen this summer to right last season's wrongs, he failed to state that there was a blindingly obvious solution to all our woes: the reappointment of JFK, this time as director of football. Funny, that.

If Jabba truly believes that an arrogant, asterisk-loving arsehole with a dicky ticker is the solution, then I'd venture to suggest that he's misunderstood the problem. If by some miracle the move comes off, then Jabba will deserve to be hailed as a genius and sceptical fans will be queuing up to bare their bottoms in Fenwick's window - but that likelihood looks extremely remote.

So, how to react, other than with utter disbelief and a vague hope that it'll soon be revealed as a hoax or just the ravings of a man bouncing off the walls of his padded cell? More specifically, where does this leave the Silver Fox? It's hard to say, really. On the one hand, the manager has never really had full responsibility for incomings (that's been largely the preserve of Graham Carr and his team, before Llambiarse steps in to conduct the negotiations and sanction the cheques) and JFK has sought to stress that he won't have an influence over the team sheet or tactics. But on the other it clearly suggests that the hierarchy felt the Silver Fox wasn't coping and that assistance was required - so as a result he may well feel undermined and unsettled by the man who has so modestly claimed "I'm a good judge of players" and "I've got a bright head".

Of course, JFK and the Silver Fox will be able to bond over one thing: a mutual love and respect for officials... It's also quite fitting that the club should have sought to renew their relationship with JFK, given that both have recently displayed a somewhat relaxed attitude towards history - the club claiming gates that had stood at St James' Park for less than a decade were somehow historic and iconic, and our new director of football flatly declaring he'd never been in charge of a relegated team, conveniently forgetting about Luton's exit from the Football League back in 2001...

To ban or not to ban, that is the question

When it was reported - primarily in the Torygraph, by their North-East football correspondent and former Journal hack Luke Edwards - that the Newcastle dressing room was split asunder, with relations between a French clique and other players having broken down, the story had the ring of truth about it. After all, that all was not well was readily suggested by the on-pitch evidence. But was it actually just a convenient narrative for the media to spin out, believable but with little or no basis in reality?

The club's response to the story was firm - first a refutation of the reports, delivered by Papiss Cisse and Mr T, and then a letter threatening the Torygraph with legal action and a St James' Park ban for its journalists, including Edwards.

The strength of this response doesn't necessarily indicate that the rumours were false, of course; what it does show is that the club acknowledged the gravity of the situation and that something needed to be done to refute the allegations immediately and unequivocally. Toiling away as we were towards the foot of the table, with confidence shot and relegation a distinct possibility, such a story could only inflict further damage if it was allowed to fester. It seemed like we were being kicked while we were down. Even in his interview after the QPR game, when he should have been expressing relief (if not delight), the Silver Fox couldn't resist taking a swipe at journalists who he claimed would be "crying into their beer" at the club's survival.

All of which makes this blog post on the subject by Channel 4 news anchor and self-professed Newcastle fan Alex Thomson an interesting read. He overstates the point - self-consciously, you'd hope - in comparing clubs that ban or gag journalists to despotic and authoritarian political regimes, and talks about such clubs doing so "with impunity". What he doesn't acknowledge is that it currently cuts both ways - hacks often act with apparent impunity too. If the club genuinely felt that Edwards was trotting out scurrilous rumour with no basis in fact, would they not be justified in taking decisive action, particularly given the sensitivity of the context and the timing of the story's publication? Would it really be petulant, childish behaviour to react as they did in those circumstances? I'd venture not.

But - and it's a big but - it's worth making clear that to take this view would be to cast doubt on the integrity of a journalist who has been in and around the club for years and who has insisted everything was properly sourced. While the story may have been damaging to the club, particularly given its predicament at the time, Edwards can't be accused of professional irresponsibility as a result, if it was indeed true. On the contrary, it's his job to report on goings-on, even if the club would prefer that those goings-on were kept in-house rather than splashed all over the back pages.

So where does that leave me? In the somewhat uncomfortable position of wanting to side with the club's stance in the hope (rather than the cast-iron knowledge) that the reports were nonsense, while at the same time fearing that there may have been some truth to them - in which case I can agree with Thomson that the ban is at best petty and at worst cynical.

The Mirror's Simon Bird has suggested that the Silver Fox's attacks on the local media have been motivated primarily by a desire to deflect negative attention away from the players and himself - probably the case whether the rumours of dressing room splits are true or not - and has accused him of ingratitude, for forgetting the way in which his achievements last season were lauded. Bird, of course, knows a thing or two about falling foul of a Newcastle manager's ire himself, having turned up to a press conference and had one call him a "cunt"...