Compare and contrast Leicester City and the inaptly named Newcastle United. The former were supposed to be the ones in the tighter spot but adversity has made them stronger. Another vibrant performance brought a fifth win in six matches and they even transformed that hullabaloo about Nigel Pearson’s oddball press conference into positive energy, with the manager revealing his players arranged for a new addition to the menu at the training ground the next day – ostrich burgers.
“You have to be able to laugh at yourself and allow other people to do that,” said a grinning Pearson after his side’s vibrant win. “What makes it easier is getting this result.”
There is no such bonhomie at Newcastle, only acrimony and defeats. They remain a point above Leicester and Hull, and two above 18th-placed Sunderland, thanks to the tally they amassed before lapsing into an eight-game winless streak, but they are unravelling spectacularly at a time when others are rallying. The manager, John Carver, who has presided over two wins amid 11 defeats since replacing Alan Pardew 17 games ago, says he has no intention of quitting. “I’m not going anywhere until someone comes to me and tells me otherwise,” he said. “I’m not a shirker and I’m not going to hide from anyone. I’m going to stand there and take it because I have to.”
It has long been mooted that Steve McClaren will take over in the summer but there are suggestions that the former England manager should be parachuted in now to rescue the team from relegation. Not that McClaren is riding high himself at the moment, his Derby County side having dropped out of the Championship play-offs because of a late collapse. “Commiserations” was all Carver would say when told of Derby’s defeat by Reading on Saturday.
Carver admits, however, that Newcastle’s recent performances suggest he is not inspiring his players. It would have been preposterous to claim otherwise given the nature of the defeat at Leicester. Carver said he spent most of the build-up stressing the importance of dealing with the opposition’s strong starts but they fell behind after 34 seconds to a header from Leonardo Ulloa. They then conceded in the 17th minute to Wes Morgan. Carver said he was “more animated than I have ever been in my life” at half-time – and his team conceded again three minutes later.
“I have to admit there’s a chance they’re just not listening to me,” said Carver. “That might be one factor of many and you have to consider it. You have to consider it and take it into account. But it might be a lot of other things – we might not be good enough, we might not have enough desire to want to defend in the box or score at the other end. There’s a lot of factors but I won’t deny that [the players not listening] could be one of them.
“All I will say is that the responses I’ve seen on the training ground don’t suggest that. I know it’s different playing matches from playing on the training ground, and I want match footballers not training-ground footballers. But I see how those players are playing for me on the training ground and going into the game and I’m happy. But then they keep shooting themselves in the foot.”
Carver even wondered whether some such wounds were deliberately self-inflicted, suggesting that the centre-back Mike Williamson got sent off on purpose when he kicked Jamie Vardy when already on a yellow card. Williamson on Sunday issued a statement insisting “there was absolutely no intent to hurt Jamie or get sent off”.
Daryl Janmaat was also dismissed for a second bookable offence, though Carver reckoned that may just have been a symptom of the recklessness that has marred his team’s recent displays. “What in the world are you thinking about when you make a challenge like that when the game is gone and we’ve already lost one defender?” said Carver. “It’s ludicrous and it has been for weeks with the [Moussa] Sissoko sending-off, the [Fabricio] Coloccini dismissal, the suspension of [Jack] Colback. It’s all been crazy and stupidity.”
Coloccini rejected accusations that the players are not bothered about the club’s plight. “We haven’t given in. It would be wrong to say that,” said the Argentinian. “It’s not true that we don’t care. We are trying everything to win. Any player who wants to play in the Championship must be stupid. It would be crazy to think like that. Now we all have to understand that our position is serious. It was angry in the dressing room [after the Leicester match]. It is normal to be angry when you know it is not good enough. We have to wake up because we are in a fight.”
Man of the match Marc Albrighton (Leicester City)
