Mike Ashley Got the Message

After a week of protest and criticism from fans and neutrals alike, myself included, current Newcastle owner Mike Ashley finally got the message: he’s not wanted anymore.

Here’s the complete transcript of the statement he made earlier today:

“I have enjoyed sport since I was a boy. I love football. I have followed England in every tournament since Mexico ‘86. I was there to see Maradona and his hand of God.

I know what it means to love football and to love a club. I know how important it is to other people because football is so important to me.

My life has been tied up with sport. It was the passion that I felt for sport that helped me to be successful with my business. That success allowed me to mix my passion and my business.

I bought Newcastle United in May 2007. Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football. When the fans are behind the club at St. James’ Park, it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is magic.

Newcastle’s best asset has been, is and always will be the fans.

But like any business with assets the club has debts. I paid £134 million out of my own pocket for the club. I then poured another £110 million into the club not to pay off the debt, but just to reduce it.

The club is still in debt. Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees.

I shall be paying out many more millions over the coming year to pay for players bought by the club before I arrived.

But there was a double whammy. Commercial deals such as sponsorships and advertising had been front loaded.

The money had been paid up front and spent. I was left with a club that owed millions and part of whose future had been mortgaged.

Unless I had come into the club then it might not have survived. It could have shared the fate of other clubs who have borrowed too heavily against their future. Before I had spent a penny on wages or buying players Newcastle United had cost me more than a quarter of a billion pounds.

Don’t get me wrong. I did not buy Newcastle to make money. I bought Newcastle because I love football.

Newcastle does not generate the income of a Manchester United or a Real Madrid. I am Mike Ashley, not Mike Ashley a multi-billionaire with unlimited resources. Newcastle United and I can’t do what other clubs can. We can’t afford it.

I knew that the club would cost me money every year after I had bought it. I have backed the club with money.

You can see that from the fact that Newcastle has the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League.

I was always prepared to bank roll Newcastle up to the tune of £20 million per year but no more. That was my bargain.

I would make the club solvent. I would make it a going concern. I would pour up to £20million a year into the club and not expect anything back.

It has to be realised that if I put £100 million into the club year-in, year-out, then it would not be too long before I was cleaned out and a debt-ridden Newcastle United would find itself in the position that faced Leeds United.

That is the nightmare for every fan. To love a club that over-extends itself, that tries to spend what it can’t afford.

That will never happen to Newcastle when I am in charge. The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenkos, Robinhos or the Berbatovs.

These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them.

They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30 million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals.

My plan and my strategy for Newcastle is different. It has to be.

Arsenal is the shining example in England of a sustainable business model. It takes time. It can’t be done overnight.

Newcastle has therefore set up an extensive scouting system. We look for young players, for players in foreign leagues who everyone does not know about. We try and stay ahead of the competition. We search high and low looking for value, for potential that we can bring on and for players who will allow Newcastle to compete at the very highest level but who don’t cost the earth.

I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers.

There is no other workable way forward for Newcastle. It is in this regard that Dennis [Wise] and his team have done a first class job in scouting for talent to secure the future of the club.

You only need to look at some of our signings to see that it is working, slowly working.

Look at Jonas Guttierrez (sic) and Fabricio Collocini (sic). These are world class players.

The plan is showing dividends with the signing of exceptional young talent such as Sebastein (sic) Bassong, Danny Guthrie and Xisco.

My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy.

I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long-term plan. A long-term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish.

One person alone can’t manage a Premiership football club and scout the world looking for world class players and stars of the future. It needs a structure and it needs people who are dedicated to that task. It needs all members of the management team to share that vision for it to work.

Also one of the reasons that the club was so in debt when I took over was due to transfer dealings caused by managers moving in and out of the club.

Every time there was a change in manager, millions would be spent on new players and millions would be lost as players were sold. It can’t keep on working like that. It is just madness.

I have put Newcastle on a sound financial footing. It is reducing its debt. It is spending within itself. It is recruiting exciting new players and bringing in players for the future.

The fans want this process to happen more quickly and they want huge amounts spent in the transfer market so that the club can compete at the top table of European football now.

I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans. But I am now a dad who can’t take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted.

Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United. I am putting the club up for sale.

I hope that the fans get what they want and that the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want.

This will not be a fire sale. Newcastle is now in a much stronger position than it was in 2007. It is planning for the future and it is sustainable.

I am still a fan of Newcastle United. We, my kids and I, have loved standing on the terraces with the fans, we have loved travelling with the away fans and we have met so many fans whose company we have enjoyed. We have absolutely loved it, but it is not safe any more for us as a family.

I am very conscious of the responsibility that I bear in owning Newcastle United. Tough decisions have to be made in business and I will not shy away from doing what I consider to be in the best interests of the club. This is not fantasy football.

I don’t want anyone to read my words and think that any of this is an attack on Kevin Keegan. It is not.

Kevin and I always got on. Everyone at the club, and I mean everyone, thinks that he has few equals in getting the best out of the players. He is a legend at the club and rightly so.

Clearly there are disagreements between Kevin and the board and we have both put that in the hands of our lawyers.

I hope that all the fans get to read this statement so that they understand what I am about. I would not expect all of the fans to agree with me.

But I have set out, clearly, my plan. If I can’t sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want, then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable.

I care too much about the club merely to abandon it.

I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do, but it won’t happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in.

You don’t need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message.

Any further action will only have an adverse effect on the team. As fans of Newcastle United you need to spend your energy getting behind, not me, but the players who need your support.

I am determined that Newcastle United is not only here today, but that it is also there tomorrow for your children who stand beside you at St. James’ Park.”

Mike Ashley.

Sunday 14th September 2008

I can’t say I feel sorry for Ashley at all, although to be fair, I don’t think he’s asking for any kind of pity. I commend him for writing this letter; he didn’t have to do it and he doesn’t owe Newcastle’s fans any explanation if he wants to sell the club — that’s his prerogative.

His absence will benefit Newcastle, even if the new owner doesn’t have as much money to spend as Ashley does. Ashley is incompetent in his position. Just because he loves soccer doesn’t mean he should be running a club like Newcastle, or any other club, for that matter.

Once the fans turned against him, it was going to be near-impossible to bring them back on his side. Ashley has little choice but to sell the club now, which will surely devalue the return he’s going to get from any potential suitor.

Mike Ashley, the moron, will not be missed.

Mike Ashley is a Moron

You're an owner of a Premiership team, one that's well-known all across Europe and is one of the best-supported in England. You've just gotten rid of your manager, one who you brought back just a few months ago to rescue the club from perennial mediocrity and is a hero to the fans. Those fans are threatening to boycott home games in response to the way you forced that manager out the door. Your team itself has little-to-no top young talent (the recent sale of James Milner to Aston Villa made sure of that) and has no real shot at a place in the top half of the table.

What do you do?

You go to New York City for Fashion Week and spend "$200,000 in (a) club and (order) well over 200 bottles of champagne including Cristal and Dom Perignon - buying a bottle for every patron in the club", according to an insider for the New York Post. Those patrons weren't even anyone of note; it was a bunch of D and F-list Hollywood-types, with the possible exception of Deion Sanders. This is just a week and a half or so after you were caught drinking a pint of beer in under 15 seconds in the stands by TV cameras, drawing "words of advice" from Scotland Yard.

Let me get this straight. Instead of caring more about your team and running it properly by actually bringing people who have knowledge about the game on board, Mike Ashley chooses to fly across the Atlantic and get drunk in a club with a group of nobodies. Instead of spending some money to bring some quality players to the team, Ashley sits on his reported $2.8 billion dollar fortune and do nothing with it. Why should he, really? He only spent $270 million to buy the club. No big deal or anything. I have that kind of money in my back pocket. Besides, Newcastle has scored 2 goals in 3 league games this season. They're a juggernaut that can't be stopped.

If I was a Newcastle fan, I'd simply refuse to attend another home game until this guy sold the club. A stand has to be made here to get this moron out of Newcastle. He is an absolute joke. He is incompetent and shouldn't own a hardware store, much less a Premiership team. He clearly has no interest in turning Newcastle into a contender anytime soon, which was his stated goal.

What a fool.

Goodbye, Kevin Keegan

Another Premiership manager bit the dust today as Kevin Keegan joined Alan Curbishley on the unemployment line.

The "Geordie Messiah" was supposed to turn Newcastle's fortunes around and make them a top-four contender, if you believe most of the Toon Army, but didn't even last a full season's worth of games after returning to the club midway through the '07-'08 campaign. In 21 competitive games in Keegan's second stint as Newcastle manager, the Magpies went just 6-6-9, hardly an impressive record for a team whose fans consider "big" in the English and European scenes.

As was the case with Curbishley, Keegan was unhappy with his club's transfer policy:

"It's my opinion that a manager must have the right to manage and that clubs should not impose upon any manager any player that he does not want."

This tells me he wasn't fully behind this summer's signings of two Argentine players, Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini. I also don't think Keegan was given permission to go out and buy players that he himself, not sporting director Dennis Wise or club owner Mike Ashley, wanted, and that's unacceptable. The sale of James Milner, the team’s only real talented young player, to Aston Villa may have put the final nail in the coffin as Keegan had made it clear that he wanted to keep the England U-21 captain. A manager knows more about players, particularly ones he believes will fit in well, than anyone in the backroom and especially the owner, who in this case has no real background in the game. Any power struggles going on behind the scenes should end up in favor of the manager, because he's the one person outside of the players most responsible for a team's success or lack thereof.

Keegan is a hero in Newcastle so this resignation has hit fans there extremely hard. They put more stock into Keegan than they would've with any manager outside of a couple of the big names that were available when the position opened in January. To be sure (and the evidence is in the archives here), I was never in favor of him coming back to Newcastle and didn't think he'd be successful. Even so, though, it's unfortunate that things ended like this because Keegan is a character and a voice that is good for the Premiership. He'll end up back on his feet somewhere if he wants another job, but the question is, where does Newcastle go from here?

Why So Many Empty Seats For Cup Competitions?

Coventry City hasn’t been in the Premiership since the 2000-2001 season, when they were relegated after finishing 19th with 34 points. The Sky Blues have spent every season since then in the Championship, so close to England’s top flight, but yet so far. They’re a proud club — they’ve been in existence since the early 1880’s, they were a founding member of the Premier League, and have won the FA Cup.

Before that dismal ‘00-’01 campaign, Coventry had spent the previous 34 seasons in the First Division/Premiership. Their fans had been used to seeing the best opposition in the world on a week-in, week-out basis, so the drop to the Championship couldn’t have been easy. They’ve come nowhere near promotion since then; in fact, they’ve nearly been relegated to League One on a couple different occasions.

The Carling Cup Second Round started today, with Coventry welcoming Newcastle to the Ricoh Arena. Newcastle is a popular team in England and despite their lack of success in recent years, they’re by no means a bad side. One would think that a chance to upset a Premiership team in a one-off game in a cup competition would be a draw for Coventry fans. One would think the crowd would really be up for this game, even if it’s just to see a team they don’t get to see anymore because the two clubs aren’t in the same league. It came as a bit of a surprise, then, when I turned on the game and saw a half-filled stadium with a crowd quieter than the ones at some of my high school games, at least until Coventry equalized right at the death through a long throw-in into the box (Newcastle eventually won 3-2).

This is the problem with both the FA Cup and the Carling Cup, though. For some reason, and I’m wondering what it is, matches in these competitions don’t ever seem to sell out unless it’s the quarterfinal stage or beyond. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is; a “Big Four” team could come to town and there still probably won’t be a full crowd.

I don’t understand this, and I’m hoping you can help me out. These are cup games. They have more individual meaning than most any game in a 38-match (Premiership) or 46-match (lower leagues) schedule. In the Carling Cup, one team will advance and the knock the other out on that given day. In the FA Cup, the same could happen unless the game ends up in a draw, in which case the tie is decided in the return leg. Victories propel a side one step closer to a trophy. If a Premiership team goes to one of those lower league sides, that’s the best, most talented opponent they’ll see all season. The Carling Cup winner and usually both the FA Cup winner and runner-up receive a berth in the UEFA Cup, which is no small consolation prize for many teams. The domestic cups provide another chance to win a trophy, and it’s hard to argue with that.

It doesn’t make sense to me. Is it because the games are played on weeknights? It’s not like they go on late into the night, meaning people can still get home at a decent hour and be ready for work the next day. It’s my understanding that ticket prices are lower for cup games and at lower-league clubs, so that can’t have much to do with it.

Why do I see so many empty seats like I did today?

Premiership Preview--12. Newcastle

When Sam Allardyce left by "mutual consent" in early January, Newcastle turned to a familiar figure to turn the club's fortunes around. I said it then and I'll say it now: Kevin Keegan, who spent over a decade away from St. James Park before returning to take the reins, is a blast from the past and isn't the answer going forward. When the "Geordie Messiah" took over, the club was in 11th place. They finished 12th, just a point ahead of arch-rival Middlesbrough.

Newcastle fans will continue to tell you that because they sell their stadium out for every game and their stadium is one of the largest in the Premiership, they support a "big club". They conveniently fail to tell you, however, that the last time their club won a major trophy of any kind -- and let me make this clear -- was 1955, when they won the FA Cup.

Sorry, but the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup doesn't count, at least not to me. The Intertoto Cup certainly doesn't count because it's not a lone-standing tournament, it leads into something else. The Anglo-Italian Cup doesn't count either, nor do the Kirin or Texaco Cups. To be considered a "big club", you have to win things! It's that simple; you have to win silverware! If you can't win a trophy, at least consistently challenge for one, either in the league or in domestic or continental cup competitions. Newcastle doesn't even do that anymore, so they're nowhere near "big club" status. At one point, they were, but that's no longer the case.

The fact that more than 50,000 fans turn up for every home game to watch a mediocre team is a testament to them, yes, but it doesn't mean the product they're watching can be compared to the likes of the "Big Four" by any stretch of the imagination. They're some of the best fans in the Premiership, but they're gluttons for punishment.

Now that that is over with, let's take a look at this season's edition of the Magpies.

It's been a pretty quiet summer on Tyneside. Keegan has brought in just two players so far, Jonás Gutiérrez and Danny Guthrie, both midfielders, although the permanent acquisition of young French defender Sébastien Bassong from FC Metz should be finalized within the next couple days. Five players have left St. James Park, including right back Stephen Carr and creative, but injury-prone, central midfielder Emre Belözoğlu, who returned home to Turkey to play for Fenerbahçe. All-in-all, the moves in and out have essentially been a wash, with Newcastle not losing much or gaining much.

They are undoubtedly strongest up front, where they have three strikers in Michael Owen, Mark Viduka, and Obafemi Martins who are each capable of scoring 15 goals a season. Newcastle closed the '07-'08 campaign in impressive fashion, going 5-3-2 in their last 10 games, including a seven-match unbeaten streak, to wind up in 12th after failing to win any of their first eight league fixtures under Keegan. It isn't coincidental that that good run of form for Newcastle started when Keegan switched from a 4-4-2 and began playing Martins, Owen, and Viduka all at the same time. Those three lit it up at the end of the season, giving the club's fans some hope heading into the summer and this season.

Projected Starting Lineup (4-3-1-2/4-3-3):
GK: Steve Harper

RB: Habib Beye
CB: Steven Taylor
CB: Abdoulaye Faye
LB: José Enrique

*RMF: Geremi
CMF: Nicky Butt
*LMF: Damien Duff

RF: Viduka
CF: Owen (captain)
LF: Martins

*The wide midfield positions are most up for grabs, and although those are my projected starters, others will see plenty of playing time. James Milner and Gutiérrez will both play on the right. Duff can play on either flank. Charles N'Zogbia is comfortable at both left back and left wing. Even Alan Smith can play anywhere in midfield, but he's used more up front. Joey Barton was played on the left during the club's late-season push, but he'll miss the start of the season due to his incarceration, so look for either Duff or N'Zogbia to open the year there. During that run, Geremi played on the right, and I'm not sure Keegan will mess with what worked. The only sure starter is Butt, who is still a quality defensive midfielder.

Two of Newcastle's first three matches are on the road, which is tough enough as it is, but these are even more difficult as they're at Manchester United and Arsenal. Newcastle was outscored by a combined 8-0 in the corresponding fixtures last season, so an ugly start to this year is highly probable.

If that does come to fruition, Newcastle will get a chance to make it up in September and October. Those months bring home games against Hull City, Blackburn, Manchester City, and West Brom, all winnable, and road trips to West Ham and Everton, which aren't extraordinarily difficult by any means. October 25 is the first of two Tyne-Wear derbies against Sunderland, with this one played at the Stadium of Light.

In an interesting schedule quirk, Newcastle will see West Ham, Blackburn, Man City, and Sunderland (in that order) again in January, and West Brom and Everton in the first two weeks of February. Everyone plays everyone else twice, but it's rare to see the same opponents you played in one long stretch like that at two different times. Usually teams are scrambled up on the schedule and this kind of thing doesn't happen, but it does in this case.

A brutal four-game stretch in March and early April brings matches against Man United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, all at St. James Park, broken up only by a visit to Hull.

Bottom Line: We'll see if Keegan can reignite the flame that propelled Newcastle to that 5-3-2 record to finish last season. His strikers are good, as I mentioned before, but there are question marks at the back aside from Taylor and on the flanks, where it seems to be a case of musical chairs to determine starting spots. If he can push the right buttons again, Newcastle has a chance to be a top-10 team. If not, North East rivals Middlesbrough and Sunderland will be right on their heels, which is unthinkable for Newcastle fans.

Dave from Newcastle and Wazza--Full, Unedited Interview

"Ameobi-Like" Goes to Stoke City On Loan

Oh no!

Dave from Newcastle from "I'm on Setanta Sports" must be about to jump off a ledge. His favorite player, Shola Ameobi, left Newcastle to join Championship side Stoke City on loan for the rest of the season. Ameobi has only appeared eight times for the Magpies this year and is behind Mark Viduka, Obafemi Martins, and Michael Owen on the depth chart at striker.

This seems like an odd move as Stoke currently leads the Championship, albeit only by one point, and have scored the second-most goals in the 24-team league. Their 50 goals conceded is the highest total out of any team in the top 10 and the third worst in the top 15, so you would think they'd be looking to bring in an extra defender if possible. With that said, I honestly have no idea about their injury situation and it could very well be that Ameobi was needed up top, I'm not sure.

"Is it Ameobi-like?" Not anymore, Dave.

Newcastle United--England's Version of the Chicago Cubs?

Ho-hum.

Another day, another winless result for Kevin Keegan and Newcastle today as his side managed to earn a 1-1 draw at fellow bottom-feeder Birmingham City. Michael Owen's oh-so-masterful toe-poke into the back of the net levelled the score in the second half and both teams came away with a point, a point that could turn out to be valuable at the end of the season.

Let's be honest though. There is simply NO WAY that Newcastle United should be in any danger of relegation. Compared to the rest of the teams in the fight to stay up, Newcastle has more experienced, more talented players and while they are by no means a good team, they're better, at least name-wise, than the likes of Birmingham, Sunderland, Fulham, Derby, Bolton, etc.

With the start of baseball season in the US fast approaching, here's what I'm wondering: Is Newcastle really just England's version of the Chicago Cubs, perhaps the most lovable losers in American sporting history? For those who don't know, the Cubs are a Major League Baseball team and like Newcastle, it's seemingly been an eternity since they won a championship even though they've had the resources to do so and been close numerous times. Both teams have passionate, bordering on rabid, fan bases and sell out every home game, no matter how well or how poorly the team is playing and where they are in the standings.

Some quick facts about each team:

Year of Founding: Newcastle-1892; Cubs-1876
Championships Won: Newcastle-four; Cubs-two (first division titles only for Newcastle, World Series only for the Cubs)
Last Championship Won: Newcastle: 1926-1927; Cubs-1908
Stadium Capacity: Newcastle-52,387; Cubs-41,118
Percent Capacity Filled Last Season: Newcastle-97%, Cubs-98%
Average Division/League Finish in the Last 10 Seasons: Newcastle-9th (out of 20); Cubs-4th (out of 6)
"Curse" on team?: Newcastle-Yes; Cubs-Yes, Curse of the Billy Goat
Fan Nickname: Newcastle-Toon Army; Cubs-Bleacher Bums

I would argue that the Cubs have been more successful in the last five seasons, having appeared in the playoffs twice and winning two division titles (playoffs in the National League involve four of the league's 16 teams, three division winners and one wild card), while Newcastle has bowed out of both the UEFA Cup (on multiple occasions) and Champions League with barely a whimper.

What's more is that the Cubs' future looks bright with the talent they've brought in and a decent minor league system. Newcastle, on the other hand, are going in the opposite direction faster than it takes Didier Drogba to fall on the ground without contact during a game.

If you're a Newcastle fan, come on, I want to hear you. What does your club need to do to turn the corner? What are you expecting in the future?

I salute you for being a fan through the tough times; unlike many people who hop on the bandwagon of teams who routinely win like Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and others, you've stuck with your team and will continue to support them until your dying day. Cubs fans are the same; my dad is a Chicago native and he'll root for the North Siders until he can't anymore. Neither Newcastle nor the Cubs has had much to brag about in terms of winning, especially lately, but both have that passionate fan base that is like a family. For three hours every day in the summer or for 90 minutes from August-May, these fans can go to a game and throw all of their problems and worries away and watch their team play.

Newcastle United and the Chicago Cubs. Two different sports, two very similar teams.

Nightmare Saturday for Chelsea, UEFA Cup Spot Contenders

What a day.

For Liverpool, who are now just two points behind Chelsea for third place in the Premiership, although Chelsea have two games in hand, today couldn't be any better. Led by Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, who have been carrying the team all year, the Reds strolled to a 3-0 win over Newcastle.

For Reading, who picked up a much-needed 2-0 victory over Manchester City and escaped the relegation zone in the process, today couldn't be any better either. The Royals now sit in 13th place in the league, which is a bit deceiving due to the small points gap between themselves and 18th place Bolton, but it's clearly a better position to be in then the one in which they came into today's match.

For a few other teams, however, today was a day they'd love to forget.

We'll start with Chelsea, who crashed out of the FA Cup in shocking fashion at now multiple giant-killers Barnsley. The FA Cup represented the last real chance for silverware for the West London club, because they're not going to win the Premiership and in my opinion are the fourth most likely team in England to win the Champions League, not even factoring in the rest of the continent. I'm not saying a third place finish in the league and deep cup/tournament runs wouldn't be respectable, but that's not acceptable to Mr. Abramovich. Avram Grant could very well be replaced in the role of manager this summer..

As refreshing as it was to see Barnsley, a lower-league side, knock off Chelsea and advance to the FA Cup Semifinals, teams like Aston Villa, Everton, Portsmouth, Manchester City, and Blackburn have to be disgusted with the way these cup competitions have gone this year. With Spurs winning the Carling Cup and no "Big Four" teams left in the FA Cup, two UEFA Cup spots (those usually given to the league's 6th and 7th place finishers) have vanished, although Portsmouth could very well make it into the UEFA Cup through their league position anyway, even though now they have to be considered the odds-on favorite to win the FA Cup.

The fight is on for 5th place in the Premiership now, and in my estimation, three teams--Aston Villa, Pompey, and Everton--have a legitimate chance to finish up the season there. Everton, of course, are currently in 5th with a five point lead on Villa and a nine point lead on Portsmouth, so it would take a poor run of games for Everton for either of those other two clubs to take that spot.

I already mentioned Liverpool's victory over Newcastle. Newcastle and losing badly seems to just go together very nicely these days..

Keegan Gets Dreaded Vote of Confidence

Uh-oh. Newcastle chief executive Chris Mort came out and publicly backed his manager, Kevin Keegan, today, saying that Keegan is the man to turn the club around and that there is no "doubt or worry" about Newcastle's recent form.

Now that Keegan has the vote of confidence, expect him to be gone by the end of the month.

Just kidding, I think. We all joke that once the ownership backs the manager during hard times, there's a very good chance that they'll act in the contrary and get rid of him sooner rather than later. In this instance though, the manager is a legend at the club and probably has more wiggle room than most in his position.

Still, things don't look good for Keegan and Newcastle. When Keegan got back into managing after taking some time away from the game, he had to have thought Newcastle was in better shape then they really are. Sure, financially they're set, but this just isn't a good team. Aside from Steven Taylor and James Milner, there are no quality youngsters on the roster and the veteran players are perennial underachievers for the most part.

Mike Ashley will have to overpay to bring even average to above-average players in because Newcastle isn't a desirable location to play, not for the team itself or in the city.

I honestly can't see Keegan staying beyond next season and he may leave this summer. Now that he has the dreaded vote of confidence though, he could very well be gone next week.

Satisfied With Kevin Keegan?

Kevin Keegan was hired for his second stint in charge of Newcastle on January 16. I wrote a post that day questioning that move by Magpies owner Mike Ashley, saying Keegan was nothing more than a blast from the past and that the way to move forward in the future was not by looking back to that past.

I took a lot of heat from Newcastle fans in the few days after that. The Toon Army was out in full force, telling me that Keegan was one of the best things to ever happen to their club and that he would turn their fortunes around after the Sam Allardyce debacle and be a success.

Well, the facts seem to prove otherwise, at least up to this point. I understand that it's a bit harsh to judge Keegan on a month's worth of results; he hasn't had a full transfer window to bring in his own players and was out of soccer completely for a couple of years before coming back to Tyneside. Still though, Newcastle are winless in the Premiership since Keegan has been at the helm and are just 1-2-4 in all competitions since the day he was named manager, with that win coming in a game in which Keegan wasn’t even in charge. They've dropped to 13th in the league and are only six points out of the relegation zone. They've been extremely uncompetitive and disappointing in multiple-goal losses to Arsenal, Manchester United, and Aston Villa.

I'm interested in hearing what you Newcastle fans think. Do you still believe Keegan is the guy to take you out of this rut of mediocrity? Do you want him out of there and Alan Shearer in to replace him? Do you, like me, still want to take a wait-and-see approach and see where Newcastle is at the January transfer window next season before passing judgement on Keegan?

Let me hear you.

A Weekend to Forget? Not So Fast, My Friend

If you're a neutral observer like me, this weekend's slate of games really doesn't have any compelling storylines or reasons to get excited, at least from the outside. None of the big teams are playing each other and there are no rivalry games. The closest thing to a true derby is the Fulham-Arsenal affair at Craven Cottage tomorrow but I don't think anyone expects that game to be pleasing to the eye.

Look a little bit deeper though. You'll find what could be a pretty good game between Reading and Manchester United as Reading went to Old Trafford early in the season and escaped with a point. Now the Royals get a chance to knock off the defending champions at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow in front of what should be a capacity crowd in Reading. United have lost three times away from home this season already. Can Reading make it a fourth? I'm not so sure, but I think that's still a game to keep an eye on.

Kevin Keegan will make his Premiership return with Newcastle as his side welcomes Bolton to St. James Park tomorrow afternoon. With Nicolas Anelka gone to Chelsea and with the incredible amount of emotion one would expect to see from Newcastle, you wouldn't think Bolton has much of a chance but emotion can only carry Newcastle so far. Bolton will have to commit men forward if they want to win, which is more than possible. Newcastle are a bad team; Bolton have no punch without Anelka. You say boring, I say one of the most exciting draws you'll see all season simply because no one is expecting much out of this game. Hey, if Newcastle lose, maybe we'll see Kevin Keegan cry again, you never know. That possibility alone makes this game worth watching.

West Ham and Manchester City will square off for the second time in four days on Sunday as the two sides will get together again at Eastlands after City beat the Hammers 1-0 there in a FA Cup 3rd Round replay on Wednesday. Nothing says emotion and passion like renewed acquaintances and I'd expect to see most of the same players on Sunday that we saw in midweek because both teams sent out full-strength sides. I think there's a good chance we'll see our share of yellow cards and possibly a sending off or two in this game. Remember, both teams are within striking distance of a place in Europe next season, so that just makes Sunday's match even more meaningful.

I'll be honest with you, the rest of this weekend's games don't look to be that great, on paper at least. That's the beauty of the Premiership though. Did anyone foresee that 4-4 goalfest between Aston Villa and Chelsea a couple weeks ago? I know I didn't; Chelsea rarely score more than a goal or two in a game, much less concede more than once. The Premiership is the most entertaining league in the world. I'm not expecting anything from the other games this weekend but even though I can say that with certainty now, just watch a candidate for game of the year come out from the woodwork.

I wouldn't be surprised, and you shouldn't be either.

Newcastle Hires Kevin Keegan

The hiring of Kevin Keegan today to become Newcastle's manager (again) demonstrates why the Tyneside club have become one of the laughingstocks of the Premier League: Instead of looking to the future, they've fallen back into the deadly trap that is the past. What's worse is that Mike Ashley, Newcastle's owner, had to have made this decision based solely on what his club's fans wanted rather than making the best business decision and what was right for the team by going with a foreign manager.

I have nothing against Kevin Keegan whatsoever. He's a Liverpool legend and was a great player for Newcastle and Southampton and wasn't too shabby during his time in Germany with Hamburg either.

What has he accomplished as a manager though?? Listen, I could care less about the two First Division titles he has and the one Second Divison championship; those don't prove anything to me at all. Newcastle were the runners-up in the Premier League in 1995-1996 and lost the Charity Shield to begin the '96-'97 season; again, not impressive to me. Second place in the Premiership is nice and not too shabby of an accomplishment, I admit that, but that was the best he could do in thirteen years of management.

He didn't do anything when he coached England except crash them out of the group stage in Euro 2000, when they lost two games in which they led at some point. Keegan finished with a .500 record with England (7-4-7) and in terms of winning percentage is the least successful permanent manager in England national team history.

Let me put this out there. If Keegan didn't win multiple domestic and European trophies when he was at Liverpool as a player, I don't think he would even have gotten into the management door. People don't seem to understand that being a great player and playing on a great team doesn't necessarily translate to being a good manager; the two aren't connected like that.

Apparently Newcastle owner Mike Ashley (all 567 pounds of him) doesn't see it that way, and that's fine. His problem is that as a fan himself, he's biased towards guys like Keegan and Shearer; he even sits with the fans at home matches. He has absolutely no knowledge and experience in the game of soccer other than making his fortune in the sporting goods business, and he clearly doesn't understand the game. If he did, he would realize that appointing a figure from the past isn't the answer the answer for Newcastle's problems in the present and certainly isn't the right way to steer the team to better things in the future.

There were better, more qualified candidates that Ashley could have, and should have, pursued. Yes, I give him credit for going after Harry Redknapp and trying to lure him with the big bucks, but come on; Redknapp was never going to leave the South Coast for the coal heap that is Newcastle. The favorite over the past few days had been former Monaco and Juventus manager Didier Deschamps, who did an outstanding job in leading Monaco to a Champions League final in 2004 and won Serie B with a depleted Juventus side after the Italian match-fixing scandal.

Mark Hughes would clearly have been a better choice than Keegan with the way he's led Blackburn to a possible UEFA Cup spot this year and he has that team on the right track, and Gerard Houllier would have been the best choice of all. Houllier is outstanding at developing young players and Newcastle really needs an injection of young talent into their side. The Frenchman had just come off two La Ligue titles in a row at Lyon and won two Carling Cups, a UEFA Cup, and an FA Cup at Liverpool. It was reported that Houllier turned Mike Ashley down to stay at his post with the French national team, but I have a feeling that's because Ashley didn't offer Houllier a good enough amount of money.

If you're a member of the Toon Army, you think you won. You persuaded your owner to hire a blast from the past because you think he's the right man to take you out of the hole you've dug yourself in over the past few years.

I've got news for you. You lost. You lost bigtime.

Harry Redknapp Rejects Newcastle

Come on. Did anyone actually think Harry Redknapp was going to leave Portsmouth for Newcastle? Let's see, a relatively quiet life on the South Coast near the water or life in the North East, where you're more likely to find coal than a good time?

Never mind those things though, just look at the actual talent on the field. Portsmouth is an up-and-coming team with legitimate European aspirations this season and for seasons to come. 'Arry has put a dangerous team together down there and with Alexandre Gaydamak's considerable wealth, Redknapp doesn't exactly have to worry about not having any money to buy more players if he needs to.

Newcastle is a team in turmoil right now. Their squad is full of players in their late 20's and doesn't have much young talent aside from Steven Taylor, James Milner, and Obafemi Martins. They haven't won anything of note in over 50 years and the immense pressure placed upon both the team and its manager by the fans to change that is hard to operate under.

I don't blame Redknapp one bit for not going up to Newcastle; it would be a step down for him and he has Portsmouth on the right track.

Goodbye, Sam Allardyce

In a move that should come as no surprise to anyone, Newcastle United and Sam Allardyce have parted ways today by "mutual agreement". The writing was on the wall for Big Sam after his team took just one point from a possible six against bottom-feeders Derby and Wigan over the holiday season and were also held to a scoreless draw in their FA Cup 3rd Round tie last weekend at Championship side Stoke City.

I've been calling for this move for weeks now, as you all well know. All Big Sam did at Bolton was prove he can manage a side to mid-table mediocrity. He didn't have any expectations to answer to when he was with the Trotters and he had a roster that was full of experienced players. Honestly, teams like the ones he had should finish somewhere around 7th or 8th anyway so I don't really believe Allardyce worked magic there like many people believe he did.

As soon as he made the jump up to Newcastle (if you can even consider Newcastle a step up), he showed his true colors. Newcastle are a club with passionate supporters and with all due respect to Bolton, have higher expectations than the Wanderers and Allardyce couldn't answer the bell when he needed to.

Look, you can argue that he deserved more time and a chance to really rebuild his squad, and I can see your point. The Premiership managerial merry-go-round has been on super-speed this year and some of its victims have been less deserving than others. In Allardyce's and Newcastle's case, there's no real difference between 13th in the table and 9th; it's mid-table and it's nothing to brag about. Newcastle would have, and likely still will, finished somewhere in that range this year so why not give him another two transfer windows to improve the squad?

Well, I'll tell you why, Because the players Allardyce signed last summer have turned out to be disasters. Joey Barton could go to jail for an extended period of time, Mark Viduka still hasn't left the pie shop, José Enrique is an average Premiership left back at best, Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye has played in only 11 league games, and Caçapa's transition to the Premiership from Lyon hasn't gone nearly as smoothly as hoped for. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley, a man of the fans, would have been wrong in letting Allardyce spend more of the former's money given the fact that he hadn't shown he can buy wisely.

Rumors are circulating that Steve McLaren could take over but I'm not sure how much I buy into that. His former club, Middlesbrough, are Newcastle's bitter rivals in the North East. McLaren was just fired from the England job in the summer after that whole debacle and I would think he'd want some time away from the game.

Alan Shearer is clearly the people's choice but appointing him would be a step in the wrong direction. He has no managerial experience whatsoever and as Sammy Lee's short tenure at Bolton this year proved, you can't just walk into the Premiership and be successful. Newcastle fans will have a say in who the club's next manager would be because as I said, Mike Ashley is a man of the people and a fan himself, but they need to look past their favoritism and reach out for a more experienced candidate.

Martin Jol is available but I believe he'll want the vacant Dutch national team job after Marco van Basten's contract with Holland ends after Euro 2008 this summer. There's no way Mourinho will take this position; he looks poised to take over at AC Milan or maybe even Barcelona next summer. Marcelo Lippi won't have any interest in Newcastle either; if he even takes another managerial job it'll be with a national team and he is way, way above a club like Newcastle.

Season Summaries--11. Newcastle

11. Newcastle (My preseason prediction: 14th)

The jury is still out on this year's version of one of the perennial underachievers in English soccer. For a team who believe themselves to be one of the major clubs in England, they haven't won anything in recent years to back their claim up and this season looks to be no different.

Are Newcastle more like the team who opened the season unbeaten in their first four league games or the team who's won just two matches in their last 7 played? Games against Liverpool, Blackburn, and Arsenal (Liverpool and Arsenal at home) in the next three weeks will prove to be telling for the Magpies and manager Sam Allardyce.

It's inexcusable that Nigerian star striker Obafemi Martins has started just 7 league games this year, the same number as the oft-and-currently injured Michael Owen and the lazy player that is Mark Viduka. Martins has scored a team-leading 4 goals in those 7 games (and 5 appearances off the bench), while Owen has just a pair and Viduka three tallies. There is talk that Martins will leave in the January transfer window and Newcastle may look to offload him, especially if he has a breakout performance at the African Cup of Nations and they can get a larger fee for him. Joey Barton should probably be in jail right now, Cacapa's nightmare of a game against Portsmouth on November 3rd (4-1 loss) has undoubtedly wrecked his confidence, and Nicky Butt isn't getting any younger. As I said before, Newcastle's next three games will show just what kind of team Sam Allardyce has and results will be critical for the Magpies.

Setanta's Bonehead Move of the Day

So there I was this morning, on the couch eating some stuffed crust pizza, sitting with my brother watching the pretty intense Sunderland-Newcastle game on Setanta. This edition of the Tyne-Wear northeast derby was a cracking one; the action went back and forth and as the game was tied 1-1 heading into stoppage time, there surely looked to be a winner (there wasn't, the game ended 1-1).

In or about the 87th minute, the game feed suddenly cut off and we saw a live look-in at an empty Anfield, where the game between Liverpool and Fulham wasn't scheduled to kick off for another couple hours. One of the studio hosts was in the middle of a conversation about a Blue Square South team (no, not Blue Square North or Premier!), and then it went to commercial for a few minutes. Finally the Sunderland-Newcastle game came on again, but by that time it was the 92nd minute and the game was basically over.

Simply put, that's pathetic. How can the folks at Setanta take the viewers away from a derby game like that? Maybe I don't understand the technical part of the whole situation, but believe me, I've watched enough sports in my day to know that that wasn't supposed to happen, and in all the years I've watched ESPN or even more recently, FSC, that's never happened.

Garbage!

Games to Watch--10/07

It's a relatively tame fixture list on tap for Saturday and Sunday, but two games stand out to me in Liverpool-Tottenham and Newcastle-Everton. These matchups are significant for each of the 4 teams involved and should make for entertaining soccer this weekend.

1. Liverpool vs. Tottenham (Sunday, 10:00 AM, FSC)

After Monday's exciting, come-from-behind 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at White Hart Lane, Tottenham face a tough test in a trip to Liverpool. Tottenham were 4-1 down in the second half but three unanswered goals, capped by a last minute equalizer from Younes Kaboul, gave Tottenham an unexpected share of the spoils. The manner in which Spurs came back showed the team's true character. They could've packed it in for the day after they faced a three-goal deficit but they never quit, they fought their way back and came away with a point. It was the type of game that could help turn around Tottenham's season. Already 13 points behind Arsenal, they need every single result they can get.

Unlike Tottenham, who are on the upswing, Liverpool have no momentum going for them. They've scored just one goal in their last three games, as they were held to a 0-0 tie at home by Birmingham on September 22, beat Wigan 1-0 at the JJB on the 29th (though they were held scoreless for much of that game and looked sluggish throughout), and most shocking of all, lost 1-0 to Marseille at Anfield in their Champions League group stage fixture this midweek. Manager Rafael Benitez has been under recent fire from the club's fans and media for his squad rotation policy (hindsight is 20/20; no one doubted him when it was working) and he'll need to put the right lineup out there for this game. Liverpool head across town to play Everton in two weeks' time and host Arsenal in three weeks, and I honestly believe that if Liverpool don't get a win over Tottenham this weekend, they'll be looking at 1 point from the three games.

It's not a must-win for Tottenham this early in the season, but they're desperate for points right now and I like them to pull off the upset on Sunday.

Prediction: Tottenham-2, Liverpool-1

2. Newcastle vs. Everton (Sunday, 10:00 AM, Setanta Xtra)

After coming out like a house on fire to start the season, Everton have cooled down as of late. Yes, they've won three straight games overall but one was in the Carling Cup (3-0 at Sheffield Wednesday) and one was in the UEFA Cup (3-2 at FC Metalist Kharkiv). In the Premier League, Everton have won just twice in their last six matches. The Toffees were expected to contend for a UEFA Cup spot this season and as of right now look to be favorites to do so. They're sitting in 5th place and that could likely be their finishing point. Manchester City are a likely bet to fall back to earth at some point and slide in somewhere behind Everton and Chelsea should leap back over Everton by season's end. Sooner or later, however, someone other than Joleon Lescott (3) is going to need to step up and score some goals for this club.

A casual fan of the Premiership might take a glance at the standings, see Newcastle in 10th place, and not blink twice about it. Newcastle have been a fairly mediocre team in recent years but new manager Sam Allardyce has legitimate European aspirations for his Tyneside club after four straight top-8 finishes with Bolton. Like Everton, Newcastle haven't been on good form recently (3 losses in their last 4 games) and need a rejuvenating performance in this game. Big Sam is one of the best managers in the Premiership and you can't underestimate that, but the fact of the matter is his team simply may not be good enough to finish higher than Everton, Blackburn, Portsmouth, and Aston Villa, the UEFA Cup contenders.

This is a big, big game for both teams. Newcastle really need to hold serve and win at home but I'm not sure if they can do it against Everton. A point gained on the road is a point earned, I always say.

Prediction: Newcastle-1, Everton-1

Premiership Preview--14. Newcastle

14. I was tempted to slot Newcastle a bit higher than this. Sam Allardyce is an extremely capable manager who coaxed successful results out of a Bolton team that wasn't stacked with individual talent, and Newcastle have, on paper, a better team than 14th place. However they had a team that should've finished higher than 13th last season and a couple of the teams that finished below them (Fulham and West Ham) are markedly improved and will end up leaping above Newcastle in this year's table. You also can't forget about the curse hanging over the Tyneside club; Neil Armstrong walked on the moon more recently than the last time Newcastle won a major trophy.

Sam Allardyce wasted no time in putting his mark on the club since he was hired as manager. He released Craig Moore and didn't retain Oguchi Onyewu. Titus Bramble and Antoine Sibierski were told their contracts wouldn't be renewed and both went to Wigan. Letting Scott Parker go to West Ham may prove to be a big, big mistake if Parker stays healthy and performs at the level he's capable of for the Hammers this season as Nicky Butt isn't getting any younger. Kieron Dyer may also leave the club as well, but at the time of writing this, he was still a Newcastle player. The players Allardyce brought in all have a chance to be successful at Newcastle. However, Joey Barton will already miss the start of the season with a broken bone in his foot. Mark Viduka hasn't had any time to rest this summer as he played in the Asian Cup for Australia. Geremi has played in only 72 Premiership games since 2003. Signing David Rozehnal should turn out to be a great move for Newcastle, as Allardyce has proven that he can take low-profile, middle-aged defenders (Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Abdoulaye Méïté) and stick them in the back and be successful.

The winter holidays won't be happy for Newcastle this season. October-November (Halloween and Thanksgiving here in America) brings four home games, but difficult ones in Everton, Tottenham, Portsmouth, and Liverpool. Trips to Reading and Sunderland won't be easy, nor will a game at Blackburn on December 1. With the new year comes an even more difficult stretch of games, one that lasts into the beginning of March and will be what condemns Newcastle to the middle of the bottom half of the table. Ready for this? Road games at (in order) Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Liverpool, mixed in with home games against Bolton, Middlesbrough, Manchester United, and Blackburn. If Newcastle can survive that and come out of it with good results, they can think about a top half finish..oh wait, they won't survive it.

Bottom Line-After four consecutive years of top-eight finishes for Sam Allardyce, the run will end. Managing Newcastle is considerably more difficult than managing Bolton because of the increased stress and pressure that comes with it. Newcastle has a roster built around experienced, veteran players which are mixed in with some very talented, promising youngsters who will be the future of the club. Look for them to be better in the 2008-2009 season, but for this year, it's another bottom half, disappointing, trophy-less year for Newcastle.

Roundup of Recent Friendlies

•Manchester City-3, Doncaster-1
•Manchester City-4, Orgryte-1
•Manchester City-2, Shrewsbury-0
•Manchester City-0, Valencia-1
•Arsenal-2, Barnet-0
•Arsenal-3, Genclerbirligi-0
•Arsenal-0, SV Salzburg-1
•Arsenal-2, Paris Saint-Germain-1 (Emirates Cup)
•Arsenal-2, Inter Milan-1 (Emirates Cup; Arsenal wins Emirates Cup)
•Arsenal-2, Lazio-1 (Amsterdam Tournament)
•Liverpool-3, Crewe-0
•Liverpool-3, Werder Bremen-2
•Liverpool-2, Auxerre-0
•Liverpool-3, South China-1 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Liverpool-2, Shanghai Shenhua-0 (Port of Rotterdam Tournament)
•Liverpool-1, Feyenoord-1
•Bolton-2, Chivas Guadalajara-0 (Peace Cup)
•Bolton-2, Racing Santander-1 (Peace Cup)
•Bolton-0, Lyon-1 (Peace Cup Final, Bolton wins Peace Cup)
•Bolton-3, Espanyol-0
•Reading-0, River Plate-1 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-1, Lyon-0 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-1, Shimizu S-Pulse-0 (Peace Cup)
•Reading-6, Brentford-1
•Reading-3, Wolverhampton-2
•Portsmouth-2, Yeovil-0
•Portsmouth-2, Havant & Waterlooville-0
•Portsmouth-1, Eastleigh-0
•Portsmouth-1, Fulham-0 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Portsmouth-0, Liverpool-0 (Portsmouth wins on PK’s, Barclays Asia Trophy Final)
•Portsmouth-4, Bournemouth-1
•Portsmouth-3, Leicester City-1
•West Ham-2, Dagenham and Redbridge-0
•West Ham-1, Leyton Orient-1
•West Ham-2, MK Dons-3
•West Ham-3, Southend United-1
•West Ham-2, AC Roma-1
•Chelsea-2, Club America-1 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, Suwon Bluewings-0 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, LA Galaxy-0 (World Series of Football)
•Chelsea-1, Feyenoord-1
•Chelsea-0, Rangers-2
•Chelsea-2, Brondby-0
•Middlesbrough-0, FC Schalke-3
•Middlesbrough-1, Burnley-1
•Middlesbrough-2, Darlington-0
•Manchester United-2, Urawa Red Diamonds-2
•Manchester United-4, FC Seoul-0
•Manchester United-6, Shenzhen Jianlibao-0
•Manchester United Reserves-2, Port Vale-3
•Manchester United-3, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical-0
•Manchester United-2, Inter Milan-3
•Manchester United-2, Doncaster-0
•Manchester United-3, Glentoran-0
•Manchester United-4, Dunfermline-0
•Newcastle-3, Hartlepool-1
•Newcastle-1, Carlisle United-1
•Newcastle-4, Celtic-1
•Newcastle-0, Hull City-1
•Newcastle-2, Juventus-0
•Newcastle-1, Sampdoria-0
•Fulham-1, Dagenham & Redbridge-0
•Fulham-4, South China-1 (Barclays Asia Trophy)
•Fulham-1, QPR-2
•Sunderland-2, Darlington-0
•Sunderland-4, Galway United-0
•Sunderland-1, Juventus-1
•Tottenham-2, Kaizer Chiefs-1
•Tottenham-2, Orlando Pirates-1
•Tottenham-3, Orlando Pirates-0 (Tottenham wins Vodacom Challenge Trophy)
•Tottenham-4, Leyton Orient-2
•Tottenham-2, Torino-0
•Everton-0, Real Salt Lake-2
•Everton-4, Ventura County Fusion (PDL)-0
•Everton-2, Werder Bremen-2
•Everton-0, Crystal Palace-0
•Aston Villa-4, Toronto FC-2
•Aston Villa-3, Columbus Crew-1
•Aston Villa-2, Stoke City-0
•Aston Villa-3, Inter Milan-0
•Wigan Athletic-2, Blackpool-1
•Wigan Athletic-2, Barnsley-0
•Wigan Athletic-2, Leeds United-1
•Derby County-2, Nottingham Forest-0 (Derby County wins inaugural Brian
Clough Trophy)
•Derby County-2, Espanyol-2
•Blackburn-1, Huddersfield-2
•Blackburn-3, Preston North End-0
•Birmingham-3, Peterborough-0

Note: Premiership team listed first, NOT home team