Kinnear's as 'old school' as managers come
FOOTBALL, it is said, needs its characters.
And Joe Kinnear, on the evidence of the past week, is a colourful character to say the least.
Kinnear, as 'old school' as managers come these days, yesterday laid into newspaper journalists at Newcastle United's training ground in an astonishing tirade at the way they had reported the players' day off on Monday.
Certainly, calling a number of national writers "c****" in only his second Press call since joining the club as interim manager was a bold move on Kinnear's part.
However, it might even endear himself to Newcastle fans – long unhappy with how their club has been ridiculed by the London-based media – and help build a siege mentality in the dressing room.
Kinnear's understandable gripe was that one or two papers had reported he had turned up for training expecting to see his new charges, only to find they were off.
That wasn't the case, with Kinnear himself having given them the day off so he could hold lengthy talks with his coaching and backroom staff on what was his first full day in charge.
He was also still bristling at the going over the Sunday newspapers gave him, with his appointment having been ridiculed after it emerged he had yet to serve a two-game touchline ban dating back to his last job.
Despite all this, the 61-year-old was good value when he spoke an evening newspaper colleague and myself yesterday morning.
But from the way he was closely clutching a couple of cuttings (from the Daily Mirror and the Daily Express) close to his chest, it was clear he was intent on going to war with two national writers in particular.
Kinnear went on to forcefully make his point. Unfortunately, the rant was manna from heaven for the very journalists he was intent on chastising.
And ironically, the tirade was printed in full on the day a film opened in cinemas called 'How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'.
Kinnear will most probably need all the friends he can find during his time on Tyneside, and while some supporters will applaud the sentiment behind his foul-mouthed broadside, it was probably a little bit too early to be burning bridges with huge swathes of the fourth estate.
If he is unable to stop the rot on the pitch, he won't have seen anything yet from Fleet Street's finest.
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Weather for South Shields
Thursday 24 May 2012
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