Best/Worst Newcastle United Manager

Since 1962 I believe we've had 17 managers. As is usually the way, most of their reigns have ended in ignominy. Here's my ranking:

1. Bobby Robson - pulled us out of the mire, swashbuckling football, rarely overspent, got us playing in the CL within 2 years. How things could have been different we hadn't lost to P Belgrade in that CL qualifier on penalties. Stupid and crass (very much in Shepherd's mold) to sack him 4 or 5 games into 2004-05; should have moved him upstairs at end of that season, giving him free rein to choose next manager. Such a waste.

2. Joe Harvey - black and white blood in his veins, and such a safe pair of hands. Only manager since 1955 to win a major trophy. Usually finished mid-table, but we were a match for anyone at our best under Joe. Unjustly, a loud minority of fans turned against him, as well as the board and certain players, in his final year. A serious mistake.

3. Kevin Keegan - passionate and pure. His years at the helm were intoxicating, heady stuff. A dishonest, messy, damaging 4 year battle by John Hall to take complete control had left a scarred and disunited club staring into the abyss. KK transformed the atmosphere with his optimism and joyful football. Unfortunately his newCASTLE was built on sand, with little forward planning (limited youth set-up, no reserve team) or method. But if only Man Utd hadn't been so lucky in that crucial game at St James's...

Big drop to:

4. Arthur Cox - slow start, but after signing KK, fashioned an exciting team. KK clearly learnt a lot from him coz the team was brilliany offensively (KK, Beardsley, Waddle), but weak defensively. Cox left us in the lurch after getting promotion; he complained of lack of investment but I suspect he thought he'd struggle after KK's retirement.

5. Chris Hughton - after an inauspicious start as stand-in manager, he really steadied the ship and swept away muck of the toxic fallout of the relegation season. Won promotion comfortably. Had some great wins on return to Premier League, including routing Sunderland and Aston Vomit. Unjustly and srangely ousted by our very strange chairman.

Bigger drop to:

6. Glenn Roeder - did very well on his first year of managing us after the mismanagement of Souness. Was very unlucky with injuries during his reign, and he had little money to play with after the spendthrift previous preceding years.

Another big drop:

7. Willie McFaul - always an uphill battle to keep our heads up under an unambitious chairman (Stan Seymour). We had just had our best finish for 10 years (8th) when Gascoigne demanded a transfer and Hall announced a hostile takeover bid in the same week a double whammy that led to a tsunami of ill-feeling that McFaul couldn't stem.

8. Jim Smith - a canny manager who wasn't given much of a chance due to the ongoing takeover bid. Almost pulled off immediate promotion - after finishing 3rd - but Sunderland (6th) got promoted in the play-offs instead. Couldn't make it up.

9. Jack Charlton - one average season in the top division. Our best player, Chris Waddle, didn't seem to care for his style of football and demanded a transfer to Spurs, so bringing progress to a shuddering halt. Heard something similar before?

The drop is getting seriously huge now. And I really don't have the inclination to write about them at length:

10. Bill McGarry - had an almighty mess to clear up. Needed Superman, not McGarry.

11. Kenny Dalglish - seemed to break up KK's team under financial pressure from Hall. Woeful, dour football.

12. Ruud Gullit - a popular choice as manager. Started well. Then stupidly went on a power struggle with Alan Shearer. Only one winner there.

13. Ozzie Ardiles - ahhh, poor Ozzie. He had no chance. Put all his faith into our crop of promising young players. Rudderless ship probably heading for an iceburg if he hadn't been sacked.

14. Sam Allardyce - the only thing 'BIG' about this man is his waistine and ego. Dour.

15. Graeme Souness - single-handedly turned SBR's great team into a shambolic team of losers. In-fighting and moaning became the order of the day.

16. Richard Dinnis - desperately out of his depth. Couldn't have managed Peterlee. Beware player power (Nulty, Gowling , Burns).

17. Gordon Lee - the perfect example of how success should not only be judged by points. He ripped the club apart by pushing out our best players (Hibbit, Howard, MacDonald) and promoting players who were better suited to rabble-rousing politics than footballing finesse. Left us high and dry ffor Everton's bigger salary. The dust settled about 15 years later.

 

Where's Pardew?

 

Well this was a cracking read.
Would compile my own list but don't have the patience for such haha.


And Chappaz I'm guessing Pardew isn't in there because he hasn't been here long. Hard to judge him right now, it could go tits up, it could go magnificently, who knows.

 

Gordon Lee had a skull shaped head.

 

Gordon Lee was far too full of himself. The worst mismanagement person we've had. Gullitt and Dalglish were great players but out of their depth in the management department.

Just my opinion of course.

 

I'd quite like to know where people rate him at the moment in that list, from what he's done so far.

 

Great read though I'm not old enough to have known loads of those it gives a good perspective.

 

I'd probably place him somewhere around 7th-9th. Find it quite difficult to do so though.

What would you say?

 

I'd say 5th or 6th to be honest. Apart from things outside of his control, I can only fault him on a few minor decisions he's made in regard to tactics and player selections.

 

I would say Jack Charlton was worst manager by miles, couldn't be arsed to train the players and spent his time fishing, twat

 

1. KK – no one even close. High octane rat a tat tat football, fabulous.
2. Bobby – after a poor start did very well, great football and a lovely bloke.
3. Joe Harvey – Won the Fairs cup and got us promoted, and bought some canny players. Smoked lots of tabs.
4. Arthur Cox – Did well, exiting football after 5 years of utter dross in late 70’s/early 80’s, brought back a bit of pride and the real messiah KK to the club.
5 Chris Hughton – Got us back up and a nice bloke. Never wanted him though.
6.Glen Roeder – Did reasonably well in the circumstances. Never wanted him either though.
7. Gordon Lee – did much better than given credit for finished in top 6 when it was unheard of for us, got us to Wembley in 76 and we didn’t get embarrassed for a change. Maybe could have had him higher but wasn’t a particularly likeable bloke.
8. Alan Pardew – early days but done very little wrong yet and we’re coming to the real crappy ones now.
9.Ossie Ardiles – Lovely football, young vibrant side which was heading straight for the 3rd division (for first time in history) when Hall and Shepherd sacked him.
10. Sam Allardyce – Didn’t get a long enough run for me to judge him properly.
11. Ruud Gullitt – Very poor given resources at his disposal.
12. Jim Smith – Useless.
13. Jack Charlton – the biggest squarest peg in the biggest roundest whole.
14. Graeme Sounness – wrong choice, just plain wrong choice, we never really recovered from him.
15. Kenny Dalglish – Had it all, gave it all away.
16. Bill Mc Garry – Took the word “useless” to a new level.
17. Richard Dinnis – was to football management what Alf Garnett was to race relations.

 

I've been beaten to it; but Charlton was the worst. Went off shooting and fishing rather than watch the team play or train. An utter nightmare.

Other than that - I wouldn't argue with much of what was written. God, I feel old reading that lot.

 

Have some rep for being beaten to it by me
Still irks me that I had to watch that shoite back then

 

You're missing out *shudders* Joe Kinnear.

 

What about Shearer? Guy has the charisma of a toilet scrub. No way he'd knock the remnants of Souness' failures together.

 

bobby robson was the best,gordon lee the worst,nuff said!

 

Mcfaul was the worst and wor bobby was the best.... In my lifetime and ho..

 

Pardew wasn't mentioned due to the jury still being out. It'll be called once he's sacked.

JFK, Pearson, Shearer, Sugget, etc, weren't counted due to their temporary manager status.

 

Keegan number 1, best football we have seen here.