Which Club Has Worse Management: Newcastle or Tottenham?
The Newcastle story – from the euphoria of Mike Ashley buying the club to the suicide-dive in confidence of Keegan’s departure – is tragic. What happened post-Keegan is much worse, and if you were to call Newcastle United the worst-run club in the Premier League few would argue.
That is, unless you told them the Tottenham story.
On the surface Tottenham are far superior to Newcastle in many ways. They have money to spend, they have a decorated manager, they have good players, most of their squad is still standing and they don’t have an outrageous wage bill.
But toothpick jokes aside, Tottenham are a mess. And if you think the Wise-Keegan split was bad, consider the disrespectful way Martin Jol was run out of Tottenham or how Dan Levy mismanaged the Berbatov and Keane sales or how the club has, over successive seasons, failed to find a suitable backup for King or replacement for Carrick and Davids in central midfield.
Which club has the worse management? If you measure ambitions with reality, Newcastle (top-10) are doing better at 18th than Tottenham (top-4) are doing at 20th. With the wealth of resources at their disposal, Spurs should be doing far better than the Geordie club. Unfortunately for Tottenham fans, they’re currently the butt of lame toothpick jokes.
Who do you think is worse-run? Newcastle or Tottenham?
Topics: English Premier League, Newcastle United, Tottenham
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Levy has made mistakes and there are problems with a current set-up. However, to compare Newcastle’s mess to Spurs is laughable.
You argue that Spurs haven’t replaced key players. That’s true but is that unique in football? Go ask an Arsenal fan about centre backs. How long have they been looking for a new one?
Under Levy’s reign, Spurs have qualified for European football three years in a row. We were also only a dodgy lasagne away from Champions League football and we’re good enough to be amongst the top seeds in this year’s UEFA Cup. How many other clubs in the Premiership can match that? Probably only the top four and Everton.
Yes, Levy and the board have made some bad decisions. I think everyone is able to look in hindsight and see that Jol shouldn’t have been sacked. He never lost the respect of the fans and he’s doing wonders at Hamburg. I also don’t think that Comolli should still have a job at Spurs. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Ramos has a proven pedigree and was the ideal candidate for the job.
If Newcastle are above Spurs at the end of the season, I’ll paint my bollocks black and white and run around White Hart Lane naked.
October 14th, 2008 @ 15:32spurs have a team who are getting to know each other and will become very good very soon.
newcastle have a squad of player who vcant wait to leave.
tottenham are the best run business in a presently business orientated league.
newcastle are the worst run play thing in a rapidly becoming millionnaires playground.
the only thing im sure of is that the end of the EPL as the worlds best league is nigh.
October 14th, 2008 @ 15:43Spurs being a badly run small club with small minded support will have great difficulty inescaping from their current predicament. Newcastle with their vastly superior players, stadium and fans will be top half by Christmas.
October 14th, 2008 @ 15:48I wouldn’t be too eager to commit to rash offers like that Aaron. Whilst you build a fair argument to Spurs achievements over the last few years, there’s few excuses for their current form.
Despite your manager’s past achievements he seems to be having little effect on your players who play together like strangers rather than a team. In other words you have a manager who can’t manage, and a bunch of possibly talented players who can’ gel. Where does the improvement come from?
Newcastle, on the other hand have valid excuses for their poor run of form, not least the current turmoil over ownership and management, but a horrendous injury list. All of which could be resolved by the end of November, meaning new owner, new manager and a possible strengthening of the squad in January.
A long shot maybe, but I hope you’ve plenty paint remover…
October 14th, 2008 @ 15:55comment removed by moderator – if you want to be an ass, go somewhere else.
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:02Whey lads ek its cold in’t ere. Ek fancy kissing bloke fgrom Hull last neet, top quality, spent’t'giro in one’t'go, by ek
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:05The Loony Tonns have to the most blinkered supporters in the country, havn’t won anything for 75 years and don’t have a board or a proper manager, utter shite. Spurs must be better, they beat them 2-1 didn’t they? Kevin JKeegan….bwahhhh bwaahhhh, unemplyed benefit scum the lot of them. Mickey Mouse club, Mickey Mouse supporters, Mickey Mouse town….oh and northern birds, slags the lot of them
- what a bigoted blinkered idiot. ever been to Newcastle, its beautiful, we are unpolluted, green and friendly. we have Northumberland on our doorstep (recognised as the most wild and unpolluted parts of England), low knife and gun crime (when was the last time a teenager was stabbed to death in Newcastle), don’t really have a crack problem, don’t breed Islamic extremism, have great a great party lifestyle with lasses who are full of life and a football club that have achieved a lot in their history (including a 4-1 trouncing of Spurs at WHL last season). I’ve been to London several times and each time I’ve had a laugh and enjoyed what the city has to offer. Maybe you should visit us before you form your opinions.
I’m sick of this anti-North attitude that comes almost exclusively from Tottenham fans. its basically the same as racism which football seems to breed except the perpetrators will hide behind the ‘its not racism cos we’re the same race’ crap. so I’ll call it prejudice or bigotry.
incidentally, its 39 years since we last won something
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:17You’ve got to love Geordie humour. They had a chance to be big in the early 90′s , when they built a decent squad and challenged Man Utd for a couple of seasons, but the problem then is the same problem that exists now. They put all their belief in an absolute loser in Keegan. He couldn’t do it when he had the players, so he quit. Man City – quit, Southampton – quit, England – quit, back to Newcastle with a far worse squad than before, made his crap excuses and quit…again. And the Geordies are so dumb that despite winning nothing in the best part of a century think they are bigger club than Spurs, despite the fact that since you last won anything we’ve won the double, numerous f.a cups, and have won the league and uefa a couple of times to boot. And they can’t get it out of their heads that Keegan has the tactical nous of a utter buffoon, and it’s that blind loyalty that prevents anyone buying your mickey mouse club, anyone with a bit of cash will want success if they invest, however they won’t get that with Keegan, but if they don’t hire him they’ll get chased out of town like Ashley currently is. You could only wish to be Spurs, even Sunderland are better than Newcastle, and they consist of a number of Spurs’ rejects, and have a better manager.
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:29actually we won something 39 years ago, not the ‘best part of a century’, Keegan didn’t quit Southampton he never managed there. He did leave Fulham (check your facts). neither do we care particularly about how big we are in comparison to Spurs. Both clubs are in the top ten for size in England. Keegan has some tactical nous also, when hes had expensive sides hes done something with them (like got them to 3rd after promotion, or challenged Ferguson). You cant do that without any tactical nous. Finally, you puke up a press generalisation by saying we all want Keegan back or that we all blame everyone but him. Its a small sample, but here’s a vote which shows that there is some diversity in the intelligent opinion: Vote 1
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:36Ha Ha Ha – Geordie humour is it? There’s a few cockney comedians on here as well. Must agree – according to the EPL table, Sunderland are currently better than Newcastle, and Spurs for that matter…oh, I forgot, everyone’s better than spurs aren’t they, including Hull and Stoke!!
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:38You take our rejects- Jenas? The most over-rated, average Premier League footballer worldwide and you gave us £8million for him, and he is your regular CM, rather have Joe Barton and he is the bigges joke at our club.
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:41Steven Carr caugh caugh best right back in country and never injured. £6m was it? U twat
October 14th, 2008 @ 16:56although the guy in question clearly didnt like all the positive things about newcastle that london fails to satisfy, such as we didn’t get bombed by Islamists. so much so he had to pretend to be me!
October 14th, 2008 @ 17:11Spurs are in a mess evey year, first Sugar turns up and thinks it is another computer game. Then we get Levy who checks his wallet is full every second of each game, hopefully he/we get a buyer before we drop out the P.league.
October 14th, 2008 @ 17:38Note; his wallet is hidden inside the match programme.
It must be better than having a drunk for a chairman.
@Aaron: When Jol was there in my view he wasn’t tactically good enough to compete with the top 4. However, Spurs still didn’t have the necessary players in key positions, so who knows…
October 14th, 2008 @ 22:19I’d be happy if spurs take full advantage of the situations at West Ham and Newcastle and replace our missing positions with their best. I’d nick Dean Ashton and Paul Parker and Sears from West Ham and steal Damien Duff and Michael Owen from Newcastle. Then instead of Upson go get Richard Dunne, same age but cheaper and a born leader, and man city will revamp so he may be surplus to their needs in january.
October 15th, 2008 @ 01:42What a pointless thread this is! Lat I looked, there was a thing called a Premier League just underway which is designed to test which is the better club. Nowt else (biggest bollocks, biggest neb, fattest belly or greasiest pies) matters. By the only yardstick that counts, the Toon are currently ahead of the Yids….See you in May.
October 15th, 2008 @ 11:12