Newcastle gives sigh of relief

SOCCER/English FA Premiership: The last, frayed thread by which Graeme Souness clung on at Newcastle United was cut yesterday morning.

In the wake of the dismal 3-0 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday night, Souness's underachieving and sometimes confrontational 17 months in charge at St James' Park was brought to an end by a board fearful of economic meltdown should Newcastle be relegated from the Premiership. The final cut was made by telephone.

Glenn Roeder, the former manager of West Ham United, former Newcastle player and the club's academy director, has been placed in charge. Alan Shearer, captain and club hero, will assist Roeder. Their first game will be tomorrow's home game against Portsmouth, which, with Newcastle 15th in the Premiership and embroiled in a relegation battle, has the feel of a six-pointer.

There was immediate speculation that Shearer will be the next full-time manager once he retires from playing in the summer, but he is not minded to take over then and still wants a break from football after 18 seasons as a first-team regular at Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and his hometown club. Shearer retains his long-term ambition to be a manager, though.

Roeder, like Shearer, does not yet possess the necessary badges now required to manage more than temporarily in the Premiership - the rules have changed since he was in charge at Upton Park between 2001-2003 - and he is not a contender to succeed Souness.

The regulations state, in fact, that Roeder can be in charge for only 12 weeks, and there are 14 weeks of the Premiership season left. By the end of April, Roeder, Shearer and the Newcastle board hope yesterday's decision will have brought them safety.

"All we can do is gather ourselves on Friday morning and go and pick a team that is going to beat Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon," Roeder said on the club website last night. "It won't be easy, but we will lift spirits and be very positive."

The interim appointment means the board - principally chairman Freddy Shepherd, Douglas Hall and John Hall - will be able to appoint a long-term successor, with Bolton's Sam Allardyce, Martin O'Neill and Paul Jewell the figures Newcastle are known to have considered.

Allardyce and O'Neill are candidates for the England job when Sven-Goran Eriksson departs after the World Cup and would presumably accept that post if offered. But Allardyce and O'Neill are also known to view re-invigorating Newcastle as a task they could take on. Allardyce has been offered the post before, and while there have been denials of recent contact between him and Shepherd, manoeuvring behind the scenes has continued.

O'Neill remains out of the game, caring for his ill wife Geraldine. He is keen to return to management but it is premature to make any assumptions about his willingness, if offered, to take on Newcastle ahead of England or any other position that may arise this summer. But he would be popular among fans.

Jewell has impressed the country with his management of Wigan Athletic in the Premiership this season, and at 41 he has hunger to match his undoubted talent. It is understood he has a £500,000 get-out clause in his contract with Wigan, but his salary is considerably more and he is not the cheap alternative.

Jewell commented last night: "I think my CV stands up to scrutiny, but that's for other people to judge. In football you never know what is around the corner, but I'm happy here (at Wigan) and I enjoy my job. I have done for the last four or five years."

The financial aspect of Newcastle's decline under Souness cannot be overstated. But it was the board that made the appointment, wrote a contract that seemingly entitles him to a £3 million pay-off and which sanctioned the £8.5 million signing of Jean-Alain Boumsong and the £9 million signing of Albert Luque.

"I am saddened at the way things have worked out," said Souness, who is now expected to retire to Australia. "I wish the club, the players and the supporters good fortune and success going forward."

There was no comment on Souness's assistants Dean Saunders, Alan Murray and Roy Tunks, but they are also expected to depart. That is estimated to take the whole pay-off package close to £5 million.

Newcastle's board is not used to attracting praise, but it deserves some for the actions of yesterday. Souness was taking the club down, and although the timing of his departure is far from perfect, in dismissing the Scot the board has at least acknowledged the mistake of his appointment.

The club breathed a collective sigh of relief when the news finally came though. Souness and his staff have not impressed enough of the good people who work at the club, either on the pitch or off it, and there is little sense of loss.

Hanging on for the sake of money may be understandable in a business as ugly and short-term as professional football, but there should be no pretence that Souness and his staff were doing anything else since they were knocked out of the League Cup in November by a Wigan team featuring seven reserves.

Guardian Service

MARTIN O'NEILL

Availability: Currently taking a break from football to care for his wife Geraldine, who is ill.

Credentials: Won three league championships in Scotland, although that was not enough to impress the Newcastle fans in Souness' case. Took Celtic to the Uefa Cup final where they were beaten by Jose Mourinho's Porto. Had earlier won the League Cup in England with Leicester. Enjoys a reputation as a master of motivation, if not tactics.

Verdict: Would probably win a match-day ballot at St James' Park.

SAM ALLARDYCE

Availability: Gainfully employed by Bolton, who will be determined to hold on to him.

Credentials: Took Bolton into Europe for the first time this season. Yet to win a major trophy, but has established the club in the Premiership after years of yo--yoing between divisions.

Verdict: His so-called "ugly football" might not find favour at St James' Park.

ALAN SHEARER

Availability: Just a change of job title needed.

Credentials: Still playing and has never managed, but his status among Newcastle fans would buy him a substantial comfort zone in which he could learn on the job. His conduct in backing the almost-immediately unpopular Souness suggests he has the right temperament.

Verdict: Would be popular with the fans, but represents a substantial risk for a club which must break the habit of sacking managers to be successful.

GUUS HIDDINK

Availability: Manager of PSV Eindhoven and Australia, and got South Korea to World Cup semi-finals. The Australians have already offered him a substantial new contract while the Dutch remain more sanguine.

Credentials: European Cup winner with PSV Eindhoven and winner of multiple Dutch titles. Took Netherlands to the semi-finals of France '98 and repeated the trick four years later with Korea. Is an avowed admirer of the English game, but will the Football Association beat Freddy Shepherd to the punch?

Verdict: A good fit and enjoys an international reputation which will flatter Newcastle's opinion of their standing in the game.