NOVEMBER 2004

Sorry for the break in transmission. If you want an explanation, then ask AOL… to pass you on to Wanadoo… who might need BT to help them explain… It’s been a bit of a mare, but things seem to be working OK now.

Anyway, my break in internet services seems to have coincided with the Toon embarking on a bit of a nightmare of their own. With the exception of the away wins at Palace and Sochaux, things seem to have gone well and truly pear shaped. If we weren’t already a bit thin at the back, injuries to Carr and O’Brien haven’t helped. Along with this, we seem to have developed a worrying knack for creating chances but being unable to put games to bed and kill opponents off.

Somewhat predictably, many fans have already started to turn on Souness and I have heard a number of calls for him to go. I simply don’t think that this is helpful. Can the manager really be held responsible for the lack of options he has at his disposal? Surely the buying policy of the previous management, alongside Freddie Shepherd, should be questioned first. The much-maligned late bid for Rooney as opposed to going for a replacement or two for Woodgate is clearly not helping us now, is it?

If, come the end of the season, having been given some cash to spend during the January transfer window, we are left looking at mid-table obscurity, then sure, let’s all queue up to have a pop at Souness. But I for one, am still prepared to give the guy a break.

(Oh at this point, here’s a little chuckle for you. Remember at the end of my last column when I said that all Souness had to do to complete his set of breaking Newcastle hoodoos was to mastermind a win in white shorts?? Palace 0 vs Toon 2. Get in….)

I have a feeling that the main problem with our boys at the moment is definitely to do with mental strength rather than purely to do with footballing ability. Take the recent game at Stamford Bridge as an example. Written off beforehand by many, going there with no Big Al up front, and a number of injuries throughout the side. What happens? We match the champions-elect for an hour, frustrating them and hounding them, as well as creating a handful of decent chances ourselves. Then, a lapse of concentration at the back allows Lampard to ghost in to put the hosts one-up. Now, in that kind of situation, teams like Arsenal, Man Ure et al would simply roll their sleeves up and refuse to be beaten. They would display mental strength by working even harder and being determined to get back into the game. Not the Toon though. From the moment that opening strike went in, we looked a team well beaten. Our confidence and mental strength is so fragile, that we caved. Bramble’s challenge on Drogba for the second was laughable, and there was no way back. It finished 4-0 and it could have been more. And it’s simply no good bleating about holding them for an hour and being unlucky. The facts say we weren’t / aren’t good enough.

We have now conceded over 30 second half goals this season already. That’s abysmal. But it’s nothing to do with our fitness as some have suggested. It is more to do with our inability to mentally strong under pressure. We’re well capable of coming out of the blocks firing on all cylinders at the start of games and scoring early goals (see Everton and Portsmouth at home recently), but if things start to not go our way we panic. We become devoid of attacking ideas and fragile at the back.

Now clearly, this is something Souness should be able to do something about. But not over the course of a few weeks or even months. It could be a longer process. Most importantly though, he needs to bring in some high quality players in January that will give the squad a better sense of balance than it currently has. On that note, however, I will present one criticism of Souness that I have. Please, please, please can we have players fighting for their own positions in the team and not others. Why is it that we have seen players like Bellamy, Jenas, Bowyer and others playing in three or four different positions in recent times? It means that those players who are naturally adept at playing in certain positions will take a battering to their morale if they can’t even get into the side ahead of people who aren’t specialists in that position. Graeme. Pick your best eleven in the eleven positions. Not the best eleven players at the club and try to make them fit.

Here’s hoping the downward spiral can be headed off at the pass! If you’re off to any games over the festive period, then I’ll see you there. Anfield and Ewood Park are our festive venues, and I for one am still looking forward to the trips!

Hang in their folks. It could be a bumpy ride.

Mark

Do you enjoy Mark's columns?
PLEASE E-Mail Mark Deeks with your views! (deekazoid@yahoo.co.uk!)

Previous columns:

- October 2004 -  Here we go again. Souey is now firmly in charge and it’s got to be a case of “so far so good”.
- September 2004 - What a month this was! Dyer refusing to play on the wing for his club, Woodgate sold to Real Madrid, bids for Wayne Rooney, and Sir Bobby Robson sacked - with Graeme Souness appointed to replace him!
- August 2004 - Mark's first column of the 2004/05 season, highlighting his views on our summer spending and the season ahead.

Related Links:
- Mark's Columns - 2002/03
- Mark's Columns - 2003/04

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