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A Liverpool view on NUFC

This 'Outside perspective' comes from Liverpool fan Warren Vaughan. Huge thanks to him for taking the time to answer the following questions. Warren hopes his team can win the title this season but does he envisage much success for Newcastle United? Find out below:


What memories do you have of your team’s matches against Newcastle United over the years, do any particular games stand out?

Surely, there is only one game to talk about when it comes to Newcastle and Liverpool and that is the all time Premier League classic 4-3 between the two teams at Anfield. An early Robbie Fowler goal exploded the game into life and from there it became an end to end game in which both teams looked like winning. From a winning position Liverpool then found themselves 2-1 down to goals from Les Ferdinand and David Ginola. Fowler then levelled before Asprilla quickly fired the Toon back in front again. However, Stan Collymore managed to get on the end of a fine cross at the back post to knock in an equaliser making the game all square. After a tense 20 minutes the game headed into injury time and it was time for Collymore to write his name into Anfield folklore. After good link up play between Barnes and Rush the ball managed to find its way to Collymore who had got himself into a good position on the left hand side of the 18 yard box. With one touch to settle the ball, Collymore thrashed the ball with his weaker left foot into the back of the net to send the Anfield faithful into pandemonium.


Can you think of any players who have played for both teams, what kind of impression did they make?

The most recent player that comes to mind is Gini Wijnaldum. I hadn’t watched much of him at Newcastle and didn’t really know what to expect when he signed for Liverpool. However, after only a few games you could see just how much we needed a player of his type in this Liverpool team. His holdup play in the centre of middle is a joy to watch as he never seems to lose the ball and with his calm and confident presence, he seems to set the tempo in matches allowing Liverpool to constantly apply pressure to the opposing team. Wijnaldum doesn’t score too many goals but he managed to come off the bench at half time against Barcelona in a Champions League Semi Final when Liverpool were in dire need of some inspiration and score two quick goals to level the tie against all the odds. That match will go down in history and therefore so will Gini.


Have you ever visited St James’ Park and/or the city of Newcastle, what did you make of your time there? 

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting St James’ Park but it is definitely a ground I would love to go to as the atmosphere and the level of fan engagement always looks incredible despite some of the hard times the fans have faced in recent years.


Hypothetically, if your team’s next match was at home to Newcastle in the league, would you be quietly confident of three points? 

As Liverpool have made Anfield somewhat of a fortress in recent seasons I would be confident that the reds would be able to pick up the three points especially now that Rafa Benitez has left.


Newcastle fans have often been referred to as ‘deluded’ by some sections of the media, unfair and untrue, entirely justified or somewhere in the middle? 

I think with any fanbase there is a huge difference between how one fan may see their team compared to another fellow fan. I’m sure there are Newcastle fans that believe that with the right owner that they have a big enough following and stadium to be competing right up at the top of the league whereas some fans may accept that it would be very hard to breach the top 6 just because of how strong some of the teams are financially who are already there. In my opinion though, I think it is good to have high expectations of your own team and want them to win every game that they play as the hopes and dreams coming into a new season are what makes being a football fan so special. If this makes a fan ‘deluded’ then so be it.


‘Newcastle United is not a big club’ How would you respond to this statement? 

I think anybody who has followed football for a number of years knows that Newcastle United has one of the most passionate fan bases around and that they will follow their club up and down the country no matter the circumstances. Unfortunately, the owners of the football club have kept Newcastle from reaching their full potential which has led to some very tough times on the pitch and they have found it hard to compete with clubs of a similar size to them. Obviously, there are many factors which determine whether a club is ‘big’ or not. In terms of sheer support year in and year out it would be impossible to say that Newcastle is a small club but until the ownership reflects the passion in the stands it is hard to see Newcastle competing for major honours in the coming years.


What does Mike Ashley’s ownership of Newcastle look like from the outside? 

As an outsider it is hard to look at what Mike Ashley is doing to Newcastle without sadness. It seems like Mike Ashley is unwilling to invest in the team which must be very frustrating for Newcastle fans as it looks to be one of the main reasons Rafa Benitez left. To see a manager like that who not only got Newcastle playing good football but also connected deeply with the fan base leave because of the ownership was heart-breaking to see. Also, it seems as if the club is being used to advertise the Sports Direct brand which seems to show just where Ashley’s priorities lie.


Would you swap the current owner of your club for Mike Ashley?

The owners of Liverpool Football Club are doing a fantastic job at the minute having seen the club finish second in the Premier League to an amazing Man City team and then go on to win the Champions League a couple of weeks later. I dread to know what would happen to the club if Mike Ashley was in charge so no I would definitely not swap!


In this day and age of massive TV revenue, do you believe supporter led protests such as boycotts etc still have the power to bring about positive change? 

I definitely believe that when fans come together and mobilize as a collective unit, they do have the power to put massive pressure on owners to make changes to things like ticket prices. An example of this with Liverpool happened shortly after the owners had the main stand at Anfield expanded. The owners wanted to charge £77 for tickets in a certain section of the ground. However, the Liverpool fans decided that this price was way too high and around 10,000 fans decided to stage a walkout in the 77th minute in a home game against Sunderland. The owners quickly backtracked, realising that they had caused a lot of anger and prices were frozen for two years.


Where do you think Newcastle will finish in the league this season and why?

Unfortunately, I think this will be a very tough campaign for Newcastle. Losing Rafa Benitez will inevitably harm Newcastle’s chances of getting a good points tally and the introduction of Steve Bruce doesn’t suggest that the football will improve much. Another blow was the departure of Ayoze Perez whose hard work and creativity will be tough to replace. Personally, I worry that a bad start could translate to discontent in the stands which will make life for Steve Bruce very hard and he would be my bet for the first manager to lose their job in the premier league. All in all I think anything but relegation will be a successful season for Newcastle.


Do you think the manager’s job at Newcastle has become something of a poisoned chalice?

The manager’s job at Newcastle has become something of a double-edged sword in the past decade or so. On one hand you get to work at a big premier league club with a rich history and a huge fanbase, but on the other hand you have to work under an owner who doesn’t want to invest a lot of money which means you have to work with a squad and a transfer budget much smaller than you would expect. This is why I think it is hard to see a top class manager staying in the role for a significant amount of time which is what we saw with Rafa. Appointing Steve Bruce would suggest that these conditions may have persuaded other top managers to stay away from the Newcastle manager’s job. It also has a knock on effect to the players and fans who may become disgruntled when the see the teams around them breaking their transfer fees and bolstering their squads which could lead to a toxic atmosphere around the club.


What would represent ‘achievement’ for Steve Bruce in his first season as manager of NUFC?

I think that last season Rafa Benitez overachieved with the squad he had, and I don’t believe Newcastle have added enough quality players to convince me that they won’t be in a relegation battle this season as sad as that is for me to say. I think if Steve Bruce was to keep Newcastle in the premier league this would be a good achievement.


If you could choose one current NUFC player to sign for your team this summer, who (if any) would you choose and why?

The one player that comes to mind is Jamaal Lascelles. He looks quick, strong and tactically very good every time I watch him and I think he would be a perfect partner for Virgil Van Dijk.

Are there any former NUFC players that you wish had played for your team rather than the Toon?

There are plenty of players that played for Newcastle who I absolutely loved watching back in the day. David Ginola was great to watch for his flair and the sheer audacity of the skills he managed to pull off. Another player that I’m sure would have excelled at Liverpool was Les Ferdinand. His speed, size and strength was always a worry when he played against us. However, when it comes to Newcastle legends who you wish had played at Anfield for his entire career there can only be one choice and that is Alan Shearer. His Premier League goal record for Newcastle and Blackburn speaks for itself and he managed to do it season after season after season.


Fancy featuring on ‘An outside Perspective’? Simply email in, let us know which team you support and we’ll get back to you with a list of questions.

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