Tačno osam godina i jedan dan prošlo je od kada je Michael James Wallace Ashley kupio Newcastle United. Tačno toliko je i trebalo da se dotični gospodin kao vlasnik Newcastle United-a, po prvi put obrati javnosti i progovori preko Sky Sportsa. Pitanja mu je postavljao novinar Sky Sportsa David Craig, na samo desetak minuta pre meča sa West Ham United-om.

Just how disappointed are you to arrive here today and find Newcastle in this situation?

I can't have really imagined it from Christmas, I probably didn’t anticipate we would be anywhere near this situation. Obviously after the last couple of weeks I’m still a little bit shocked by where we find ourselves today.

The fans want to know who's responsible. In your opinion is it collective responsibility or does it stop at your door?

My door.

What will do if the worst happens to this football club today and it falls into the Championship?

If you're talking about investing in a club I will continue a policy of investing in the football club.

Will you invest enough to make sure it comes back at the first attempt to the Premier League?

Yes if there is such a thing, if you're able to guarantee that I would like to say I could guarantee that, that investment but obviously the results is not something that I (indecipherable end to sentence).

If the best happens and you stay in the Premier League today, what's your plan for the club?

Well on the only positive I think, we've got the club on a very sound financial footing so we are able to spend relatively and punch above our weight now with the current financial situation that the club finds itself in.

If you hadn't come in to this club when you did and cleared the debt, where do you think it would be?

Financially not as strong. But unfortunately, I'm going to add to that that that really isn't good enough so it's no good having the horse and cart scenario. And we may have the cart financially but we now need to bolt the horse on - and we're going to.

What's your ambition for the club?

It's now going to be definitely to win something – and by the way, I shan't be selling it until I do.

Can we just be clear on that, because there's been so much rumour whether you might, might not - the club is not for sale?

Not at any price.

And by the way, when I say win something, if we ever get in a position that we get a Champions League place, that also qualifies as winning something.

What's your message to the fans today?

Today we don't need to be unlucky - not today - but but from this day forward, we will definitely be making our own luck.

There are obviously one or two things to be sorted out come the end of the season. Can we expect you and your advisors to be acting on that fairly imminently with regards to appointments with managers and such like?

On that basis it's Lee Charnley and the Football Board that make those decisions, as it was Derek Llambias who
brought in Alan Pardew. So I will not be picking the next manager, it's not what I do.

My job is make sure that they have a maximum amount of financial resources and it's their job to get the best pound for pound value out of those resources.

To be very clear, you're here to stay and you want to make this club successful?

"To be categorically clear, I'm not going anywhere until we win something."

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6X_zJWnox8

NEWCASTLE UNITED - WEST HAM UNITED 2 : 0

Golovima u Moussa Sissoko-a glavom sa pet metara i Jonas Gutierrez-a udarcem sa dvadesetak metara u drugom poluvremenu, Newcastle United je pobedio West Ham United rezultatom 2:0.

Svrake su ovom pobedom ostale u Premier League, dok će ime i prezime Jonas Gutierrez zauvek ostati urezano u svim srcima navijača Newcastle United-a. Hvala ti @elgalgojonas

Kakav dan za sve navijače Newcastle United-a širom sveta. Prvo je Mike Ashley na samo desetak minuta pre početka meča javno progovorio kao vlasnik kluba u kamere Sky Sportsa gde je obećao novi početak, rekavši da neće prodati klub, da bi kada je meč počeo igrači videli rasprodat i dupke pun St James' Park.

Sve je dobro počelo po Newcastle United. Prvu priliku imao je Riviere ali je njegov udarac sa nekoliko metara završio pored gola Adrian-a. Isti igrač je nešto kasnije akrobatski, polumakazicama pokušao da zatrese mrežu gostiju ali je i taj udarac završio pored gola.

Zatim se West Ham probudio. Svima nam je srce zašlo u pete kada je Mike Williamson u svom šesnaestercu oborio Enner Valencia-u, ali je sudija Martin Atkinson samo odmahnuo rukom da se igra nastavi.

Gutierrez i Janmaat su oprobali svoje udarce sa distance, ali lopta je u obe prilike prošla pored gola gostiju.

Navijači na St James' Park-u su osluškivali šta se dešava u Hull-u, gde su domaćem timu opravdano poništena dva gola zbog ofsajda. Baš u to vreme West Ham United stvara najbolju priliku na meču, kada je uprkos tome što se nalazio u ofsajdu a zastavica nije podignuta, Stewart Downing dobro šutirao ka golu domaćih, ali Tim Krul je kolenom odbranio njegov udarac.

Do kraja poluvremena Janmaat je pretio udarcem glavom, ali je njegov udarac završio preko gola gostiju.

U nastavku igre zlatnu priliku ne koristi Riviere, koji se na proigravanje Janmaat-a sa desnog boka, nije najbolje snašao na svega tri metra od gola gostiju, promašivši celu loptu. Svi smo tada pomislili na nepisano fudbalsko pravilo - kada se prilike propuste, sledi kazna.

Srećom kazne nije bilo, jer je već u sledećoj prilici Newcastle United poveo 1:0. Sa levog boka upotrebljiv centaršut na peterac gostiju poslao je Jonas Gutierrez gde je najviši u skoku između dva gostujuća igrača bio Moussa Sissoko, koji je glavom loptu smestio u mrežu gostiju u 54. minutu. Kakvo slavlje svih navijača na St James' Park-u.

Svrake su želele i drugi gol, kako bi osigurali opstanak u Premier League. Dobre prilike su imali Cisse glavom, kojem je udarac izblokiran i Coloccini je hvatao volej ali je i on promašio gol gostiju.

Na samo osam minuta pre kraja meča Vurnon Anita je istrčao kontra napad, gde su ga pratila još dva igrača domaćih. Anita je ušao u šesnaesterac gostiju, nije bio sebičan, pokušao je da loptu prosledi do Cisse-a, ali je golman gostiju Adrian osujetio njegovu nameru i uhvatio tu loptu. Neverovatno...

Međutim, konačan rezultat postigao je junak meča, junak svog života, junak naših života Jonas Gutierrez, koji je u 85. minutu rezantnim udarcem sa dvadesetak metara, doduše uz malu pomoć jednog defanzivca gostiju savladao Adrian-a za 2:0 i za opstanak Newcastle United-a u Premier League. Nadamo se da će po Jonasu Gutierrezu biti snimljen film.

Čim je sudija Atkinson odsvirao kraj meča, stadionom se zaorio urlik oduševljenja ali samo nekoliko sekundi kasnije se zaorilo i "Get Out Of Our Club".


Konačan rezultat: 2 : 0


NUFC: Krul, Janmaat, Coloccini, Williamson, Dummett, Sissoko, Anita (Gouffran 88), Colback, Gutierrez, Riviere, Cisse.
Subs n/u: Woodman, R.Taylor, Ameobi, Cabella, De Jong, Perez.

WHUFC: Adrian, Jenkinson, Burke (Tomkins 69), Reid, Cresswell, Song, Nolan, Kouyate (Lee 77), Downing, Valencia (Amalfitano 63), Cole.
Subs n/u: Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Jarvis, Nene.

Sudija: Martin Atkinson

Gledalaca: 52,094 (oko 3000 gostujućih navijača. U loži je sedeo Mike Ashley, Lee Charnley, kao i ex-mag Andy Carroll ali i Petar Reid)

P.S.
Turbulentna sezona je konačno završena. Posle 38 kola sakupili smo 39 bodova i sezonu završili na 15. mestu iznad sunderland-a i Aston Villa-e. Ispali su QPR, Burnley i Hull City. Sledeća sezona počinje već 8. avgusta. Nadamo se da će Mike Ashley konačno odrešiti kesu i dati nadamo se novom manageru odrešene ruke oko dovošenja kvalitenih igrača, kako bi sledeće sezone napravili evoluciju i nekako se našli na sredini tabele i samim tim pripremali tim za sezonu 2016/17 za atak na Europa League.

photo: dailymail

Na samo nekoliko dana pred odlučujući meč za opstanak u Premier League, finansijski direktor Newcastle United-a John Irving napustio je klub. Irving je praktično bio treći čovek kluba, odmah iza Mike Ashley-a i Lee Charnley-a.

Irving je u klubu bio sedam godina. Njegovo novo radno mesto će biti na Newcastle-ovom aerodromu.

photo: chronicle