Ten matches remain. 68 days, 900 minutes.
Whichever way you look at it, time is an enemy of Newcastle United who are in the thick of a relegation battle where it seems only one of the Magpies, Norwich City and Sunderland will survive and remain in the top flight. With the short amount of time remaining, you would have thought the 3-1 defeat at home to AFC Bournemouth last Saturday would spell the end of Steve McClaren’s reign at St James Park. Three days later, the club is yet to act and even if a new manager is appointed, the club is wasting valuable time.
It appears to be pretty clear that McClaren has lost the dressing room. Before the defeat on Saturday, it was reported that the players made a public statement expressing their support for their head coach, however, it was revealed shortly before kick off that many of the squad knew nothing about this statement and only became aware of this news at the same time the fans did.
Under the former England manager – who failed to qualify the Three Lions for the 2008 European Championships – several first team players have lost form, namely Georginio Wijnaldum who reportedly vented his frustration after being substituted in the 5-1 defeat to Chelsea. Daryl Janmaat is another player who has not been at his usual best in the past few months, and the list goes on.
McClaren himself seems to have realised that he is not the man for the job. After being heavily criticised by a local reporter, the head coach accused him of having a certain agenda which led to the pair needing to be separated by observers. It seems the only men who think McClaren can keep the Geordies in the Premier League are the Board of Directors, of which the manager is a member of.
Worryingly for fans, this scenario is similar to the one that the club found themselves in seven years ago when they got relegated. They were fighting for survival, spent too much time trying to find a capable manager, and by the time club legend Alan Shearer was appointed he only had eight matches to save the club from the drop. Ultimately, the Magpies were relegated into the Championship because they spent too much time, time they did not have, making a decisive decision.
It is clear the fans have had enough, and on Monday the club was sent an open letter from the fans’ forum demanding the removal of McClaren. The letter’s intentions were clear enough: “what Newcastle fans want is a team of 11 players in black and white shirts that understand their role to perform to their maximum – week in, week out.” The forum has been very vocal on all issues involving the club over the years, with their motto of “we don’t demand a team that wins, we demand a club that tries” echoing the opinion shared by the vast majority of Toon fans.
Relegation from the Premier League is always going to hurt a club financially, but with the new TV deal commencing next season and the gap between the Premier League and Championship set to grow, if there was ever a season to survive it would have to be this campaign, although the club’s Board of Directors seem to have trouble recognising this.
Newcastle is only one point away from the safety of 17th and the club has matches against the other bottom four teams to come. They can still survive, but it is only possible if McClaren leaves. If the Board fail to see that McClaren is out of his depth and resist firing him, Newcastle will get relegated and it is as simple as that. As the open letter cried out: “it is time for action. It is time for accountability.”
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