West Ham boss Moyes bullish about point against ‘tough’ Newcastle side

West Ham boss Moyes bullish about point against ‘tough’ Newcastle side
West Ham United's English striker Jarrod Bowen (R) fights for the ball with Newcastle United's English defender Dan Burn (L) during the English Premier League football match. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 20 February 2023

West Ham boss Moyes bullish about point against ‘tough’ Newcastle side

West Ham boss Moyes bullish about point against ‘tough’ Newcastle side
  • Having taken the lead early, United allowed the visitors back into the encounter and not until the final 20
  • West Ham boss David Moyes thinks his side deserve credit for matching a United side who have lost just once in the Premier League all season

NEWCASTLE: Eddie Howe has admitted Newcastle United missed the influence of their Brazilian talisman Bruno Guimaraes — however, he believes any team in the Premier League would be the same.

The central midfielder served the first of a three-game suspension as the Magpies labored to a 1-1 home draw with struggling West Ham United. Guimaraes was red-carded in the Carabao Cup semifinal second-leg win over Southampton at St. James’ Park in midweek.

Callum Wilson netted for the Magpies in the third minute before Lucas Paqueta, a reported transfer target for Howe last summer, ensured honors remained even.

And when asked whether the Champions League-chasing Magpies missed Guimaraes, Howe said: “Undoubtedly, he’s that difference-maker with an eye for a pass. He has creative flair we possibly missed today.

“I think we’re always going to miss Bruno because he’s so unique and slightly different. But I do think our midfield players today played well. I don’t think it’s a criticism of them, he’s irreplaceable. We missed his creative eye probably more than anything else.

“It was a great start for us but we just didn’t build on that great start and that’s the disappointing thing, I thought we allowed West Ham into the game and probably got punished for that.”

Having taken the lead early, United allowed the visitors back into the encounter and not until the final 20, after the introduction of new boy Anthony Gordon, did the Magpies really look like mounting a challenge for all three points.

On the impact of former Everton man Gordon, Howe said: “Yeah, very pleased. Your first action here at St. James’ Park is important. His first pass was a brilliant one, he injected some life into us in a time where we needed it in the game. Disappointed for him that we couldn’t get him in the box and see what he can do closer to goal but he did really well when he came on.”

West Ham boss David Moyes thinks his side deserve credit for matching a United side who have lost just once in the Premier League all season.

“It’s a great point for us. We played well today. I’m really pleased for the players,” said the Hammers’ boss.

“We could have buckled. This place at the moment, it’s right on top of you. But we played well today and deserved to get back in the game. There are lots of pluses for us.

“There was a period where we had two or three opportunities or moments where we could have got the second goal, but I was pleased with how we controlled the game at different times. Newcastle are playing very well at the moment, but we did today as well.

“We deserve some credit because we’ve not been playing so well. They’re a big, big side. They can put the ball on top of you when they don’t go round you. Nayef (Aguerd) had a brilliant tackle. Part of your job is to defend well and we did defend well today.

“It keeps a little bit of a run going for us. A draw at Newcastle isn’t the worst result. We’d have liked to win but we’re up against a team who are in good form at the moment. I think our performance merited something from the game. If we play like that next week (against Chelsea) we’ll give ourselves a chance.”


Newcastle United end-of-season awards: winners and losers from historic 2022/23 campaign

Newcastle United end-of-season awards: winners and losers from historic 2022/23 campaign
Updated 06 June 2023

Newcastle United end-of-season awards: winners and losers from historic 2022/23 campaign

Newcastle United end-of-season awards: winners and losers from historic 2022/23 campaign

NEWCASTLE: The wait for silverware goes on at St. James’ Park, but Champions League football has returned.

Having suffered the seemingly endless pain of one relegation battle after the next, this season has proven a welcome distraction for Newcastle United.

Under Eddie Howe, and with PIF at the helm, the days of feeding on scraps at the foot of the Premier League seem long gone. This very much feels like the era of progress and positivity on Tyneside.

The season that was full of highs, with the odd low along the way, but it all ended in success with a top-four finish in the bag and trips to Barcelona and Madrid in the offing, rather than fears of Preston and Barnsley.

Looking back, here’s our take on the highlights, lowlights and the standout performers across the season.

Player of the season
You know it’s been a remarkable campaign when you find it impossible to mention your 18-goal, Premier League fourth top-scorer for the season, Callum Wilson, in your top three players for the season. In fact, he might not even make the top five, such has been the competition at the top.

Honourable mentions must go to the likes of Bruno Guimaraes, Fabian Schar, Kieran Trippier and Nick Pope, who have all more than proven their value over the course of the season, but in my opinion, it is very difficult to look past the talents of last season’s official POTY, Joelinton. He’s a player who just keeps getting better and better.

Signed as a forward and used in a back-to-goal, central role on arrival, the big Brazilian looked like a fish out of water in the Premier League. It is easy to forget that it must have been hard to settle during the COVID-19 lockdown, not speaking the language, playing in a new country, new environment and being asked to perform a role that you had never played.

Those days, though, seem long gone. And while the shoots of recovery were evident in the latter days of the previous manager, Howe sprinkled some magic on the player in his opening weeks, dropping him into a deeper midfield role, with the switch paying instant dividends. From then, Joelinton has been used as a left forward or to the left side of a central midfield three, bursting forward to score goals and also provide cover to the backline with his physical, commanding style.

This season, playing largely in midfield, Joelinton had his most successful season in front of goal, netting eight — and from his deepest starting slot yet. Bigger than any Arab News player of the year gong, Joelinton received his maiden Brazil call last week, just reward for his outstanding form and growth under Howe.

Most improved player
Sean Longstaff. Always undervalued, never by Howe and his coaches, though.

In the space of a year, Longstaff transformed from a player who appeared to have lost his way under previous boss Steve Bruce and was heading for the Newcastle exit door. The North Shields native — a city suburb on the banks of the Tyne — never wanted to leave his boyhood heroes. However, his breakthrough under Rafa Benitez and big money links to Manchester United seemed a million miles away from the reality of this time last year.

And even after penning a new deal, one which saw his chronic underpayment readjusted, things in the garden weren’t exactly rosy for Longstaff, with Jonjo Shelvey ahead of him in the midfield pecking order, as well as usual suspects Joelinton, Joe Willock and Bruno Guimaraes. But a knock to Shelvey in pre-season in Portugal opened the door to the Geordie, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Makeshift left-back Dan Burn could easily make a case for unsung hero, too.

Young player of the year
Elliot Anderson had a brilliant breakthrough year, and bigger and better things are expected of the youngster next season, but this one is really a two-way shootout.

Sven Botman and Alexander Isak, both signed last summer, enjoyed sensational first seasons at the club, the latter despite a long, frustrating spell on the sidelines.

Isak, signed for a club record fee, broke on the scene with a flawless display on debut at Liverpool and looked set for great things, only for an injury, sustained while away with Sweden, to keep him out until the new year. But after his return, Isak displaced top-scorer Wilson as the club’s central striker and netted 10 goals in total himself. His most memorable contribution probably came on the blue half of Merseyside when he weaved in and out on the left to tee up Jacob Murphy. It was every bit a throwback to Thierry Henry at Arsenal. Rumour has it, Everton’s Michael Keane is still twisting and turning to this day.

Botman, on the other hand, has been Newcastle’s Mr. Consistent, a rock alongside Schar at the heart of the Magpies’ backline. And while he hasn’t put in the flashy shows like Isak, his solidity, in his debut campaign in the joint best defense in the division, means he gets the nod for me.

Underperformer for 2022/23
This one isn’t difficult. Allan Saint-Maximin. He started the campaign like a house on fire, but injury curtailed his blistering start, which saw Kyle Walker turned inside-out in a 3-3 draw with Manchester City as never seen before. It was a flash of the old Maxi. Sadly, flashes are all we get these days.

When fit — and that was rarely this season — Saint-Maximin struggled for gametime even though he showed a willingness to bend to Howe’s more disciplined tactical approach. It has never quite felt like enough, though. And even though more flashes were shown on the final day at Chelsea, you’d have to feel his time on Tyneside may well be up.

The player himself took to Instagram to post this very cryptic message on Monday. It read: “When I joined @nufc in 2019, nobody understood my choice. I always believed in this club, as soon as I step onto the pitch, the fans directly adopted me. Since then there has been highs and lows, when we were in the relegation zone, but I always believed in the team and trusted the project even if it was hard to stay in the PL, I knew that the club deserved much better and we had to prove it. I gave everything on the pitch to keep the team at the highest level. I am grateful that some people remember that.”

It continued: “I am now entering a turning point in my career and I will give everything until the end to achieve my dreams. It’s often said that human beings forget quickly, but me I won’t be able to forget everyone that love me for who I am and believe in me in difficult moments, it’s in these hard situations that we see the real supporters. Thanks to everyone for the support, whatever happens, I will always give everything when I have the chance to step onto the pitch. Thanks, God, for everything.”

It’s fair to say that message has got fans guessing.

Goal of the season
Newcastle had two contenders in the Premier League’s goal of the season competition, and both deserve a special mention.

Miguel Almiron’s cracker of a volley, which was stroked in at Fulham as it dropped over his shoulder, is up there with the best the league was graced with in the past 12 months, however, you would have to go a long way to see a better strike than the one produced by Saint-Maximin at Wolves.

The goal meant a lot, it rescued a point for Newcastle in their first real struggle of the season, but the technique in itself was worthy of winning any competition. Hit with such velocity, having dropped from so high, first time, in the 90th minute from 1-0 down, it was the pinnacle of the Frenchman’s ultimately disappointing season.

Result of the season
Spurs. It had to be: 21 minutes of unbridled mayhem, five goals and a team decimated without getting out of second gear.

This was one of the finest, most brutal, Premier League performances I’ve ever seen. Easily the most impressive period of play, in those opening exchanges, ever produced in the Premier League by a team in black and white.

Sitting in the St. James’ Park press box, we were swamped by fans falling off their seats and jumping with joy, time and time again that day. Jacob Murphy’s face told the story of the masses — no one could believe their eyes, particularly those furnished in sky blue. It was a long trip back, no doubt. Final score, Newcastle United 6, Tottenham Hotspur (Harry Kane alone) 1.

Moment of the campaign
In a campaign of many moments, for me, one stands above all. The final whistle at the end of the first leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal.

Newcastle United dominated their struggling opponents from near minute one to 90, and with just 20 minutes to go, edged themselves in front via Joelinton. The job wasn’t done yet, but still, at the halfway point, playing a side who’d go on to finish bottom of the top-flight last season, it felt the groundwork had been laid.

I was at Wembley — the old pre-development one — as a fan in 2000, the last time Newcastle played there in a cup competition. And as the whistle sounded, for the first time, a wave of realization swept over me that a return was on the cards.

That being said, the win over Brighton, which all but sealed a Champions League spot, was also up there in a close second. The outpouring of emotion that night, on and off the field, was a joy to behold.

The one big regret...
At almost any given time this season, Newcastle would have bettered Manchester United. But in front of 87,306 people on Feb. 28, they barely laid a glove on them. Sadly, for Howe and Newcastle, it was the most meaningful afternoon of the whole campaign.

Losing the Carabao Cup final was not really something alien to the club; they’ve lost final after final before. However, there was something a whole lot different this time around, yet so much remained the same.

This was not the Man United treble-chasing side of 1999, nor was it Arsene Wenger’s pre-Invincible, but near untouchable Gunners of 1998 — the last two teams to beat the Magpies in a showpiece finale. This was the fallible, very beatable Man United, one in transition, moving toward glory of old, but lacking belief that a win was an inevitability. That’s why losing it felt so painful.

The thing to take from this moment, though, and the whole season, is that these times will come again for Newcastle — but next time, they’ll be in a stronger position to grasp the opportunity — and silverware — with both hands.
 


Winds of change blowing through Saudi football as elite clubs ponder privatization

Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal speaking at the press conference on Monday. (Twitter/@GSA_KSA)
Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal speaking at the press conference on Monday. (Twitter/@GSA_KSA)
Updated 06 June 2023

Winds of change blowing through Saudi football as elite clubs ponder privatization

Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal speaking at the press conference on Monday. (Twitter/@GSA_KSA)
  • Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund has taken 75 percent ownership of four of the Kingdom’s top clubs: Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli

RIYADH: A revolution is taking place in Saudi football, on and off the pitch. As some of the world’s best players increasingly look to the possibility of playing in the Roshn Saudi League, the prospect of privatization — and the benefits it could bring — is in the air at the Kingdom’s elite clubs.

On Sunday, it was reported that Karim Benzema, who received the Ballon d’Or last October, had agreed to sign for Al-Ittihad, just days after the Jeddah giants celebrated clinching a first league title since 2009.

The French striker follows in the footsteps of his former Real Madrid teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, who signed for Al-Nassr in December. And the Portuguese star believes the future is bright for the Saudi top flight.

“The league is very good,” Ronaldo said shortly after the season concluded. “But I think we have many, many opportunities to still grow. The league is competitive … but they need to improve a little bit more the infrastructure.

“And in my opinion, if they continue to do the work that they want to do here for the next five years, I think the Saudi League can be a top-five league in the world.”

As his comments suggest, such improvement depends on more than simply importing world-class talent — though that certainly helps, and match attendances have increased by 150 percent in the past year alone.

Just as important, however — perhaps even more so — is the ways in which the domestic game is organized and so it was striking on Sunday when plans were announced to help a number of clubs privatize this year.

“The privatization and ownership transfer of clubs aims to accelerate progress in a variety of sports across the Kingdom, further growing participation, providing cutting-edge facilities, increasing competition and nurturing future champions,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.

These plans have not appeared out of the blue. There were previous moves to shift the ownership of clubs from the public to the private sector but progress, never easy and smooth in any such process, was further slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the SPA, the current process will focus on three main aspects of development: Firstly to present the prospect of investing in Saudi sport as an appealing prospect; secondly to improve the governance of clubs and help them become more professional and sustainable; and thirdly to improve the infrastructure of clubs off the pitch to make them more competitive on it.

Authorities are targeting a fourfold increase in revenue generated by the Saudi League, from SR450 million a year ($120 million) to SR1.8 billion by 2030. By that time, the market value of the league is expected to increase from SR3 billion to SR8 billion.

In short, it is all about the Saudi game building a sustainable business model for itself.

The first steps were quickly taken. On Monday, it was announced that the Kingdom’s Public Investment Fund had taken a 75 percent ownership stake in four clubs: Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.

The fund said the remaining quarter share in each of the clubs would be held by their respective non-profit foundations. This transfer of ownership took place with the aim of attracting further investment, increasing the contribution of the private sector to the sports sector, and creating new jobs.

It remains to be seen what this will mean for Saudi football in the coming months but these are undoubtedly major developments. It is no coincidence that the best leagues in the world are contested by clubs that are privately owned.

Indeed, if the goal of Saudi authorities and the country’s football association is to develop a league that is one of the top 10 in the world by 2030, never mind match Ronaldo’s ambition of a top-five spot, then the teams that play in it will need to be able to attract the very best people, from other industries, to be part of their organizations.

They will have to be flexible, build deeper relationships with key stakeholders, and become even more connected with their local communities. Clubs will need to become proficient at standing on their own two feet and developing business plans, discovering along the way what works for them and what does not. In theory, privately-owned clubs are able to move more quickly and be more flexible than those under public ownership.

As well as watching world-class players take to the pitch in the Kingdom, fans should be able to enjoy doing so in world-class facilities. But it is also hoped the benefits that will come from all of this will be felt more widely throughout a society that has become much more sportier in the past few years.

Participation in sport has increased from 13 percent of the population eight years ago to almost 50 percent in 2022. Football is the most popular sport of all, with more than 80 percent of the population following, playing or watching it. The foundation is clearly there, and great potential.

Thanks to the arrival of some huge international soccer stars, and the prospect of more to follow, there is currently an unprecedented level of interest in Saudi football, both at home and abroad. This means that now the perfect time to develop the Saudi League off the pitch, as well as on it.

There is a long road ahead. There will be a lot of unglamorous and boring behind-the-scenes work to be done — but it is very necessary.

Ronaldo will not remain in Saudi Arabia forever but a league full of privately-owned clubs that are successful off the pitch as well as on it could become a fixture of world football for a long time to come.


Kaku voted Saudi Pro League player of the year by Sofascore

Kaku voted Saudi Pro League player of the year by Sofascore
Updated 05 June 2023

Kaku voted Saudi Pro League player of the year by Sofascore

Kaku voted Saudi Pro League player of the year by Sofascore

RIYADH: Al-Taawoun’s Paraguayan winger Alejandro Romero, nicknamed Kaku, has been voted Saudi Pro League player of the season by Sofascore as part of its SPL XI team of the season.

The team included Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe, defenders Ahmed Hegazy and Ahmed Sharahili also from Al-Ittihad and Marwan Saadane from Al-Fateh.

In a five-man midfield, Al-Wehda’s Faisal Fajir, Ever Banega from Al-Shabab, Talisca from Al-Nassr, Igor Coronado from Al-Ittihad and Knowledge Musana from Al-Tai joined Kaku.

Up front was golden boot winner Abderrazak Hamadallah who bagged 21 goals this season.

The XI included five players from Al-Ittihad, who won the league with 72 points, finished with the best defensive record with only 13 goals conceded and a goalkeeper with 18 clean sheets.


Crown prince launches Saudi sports clubs’ investment, privatization project

Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal at the press conference. supplied
Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal at the press conference. supplied
Updated 05 June 2023

Crown prince launches Saudi sports clubs’ investment, privatization project

Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal at the press conference. supplied
  • Special focus has been placed on football with plans to position the Saudi Pro League among the top 10 in the world

Jeddah: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday launched a Saudi sports clubs’ investment and privatization project, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Part of Vision 2030, the initiative aims to encourage private investment in the sector toward developing national teams, regional sports clubs, and practitioners at all levels.

The current phase of the project involves granting approvals for schemes and transfers of club ownership, as well as the privatization of several sports clubs.

The program has been designed to create opportunities and the right environment for investment in the sports sector, raise levels of professionalism, and administrative and financial governance in sports clubs, while developing their infrastructure to provide the best services to sports fans and improve audience experience.

The transfer and privatization of clubs, in general, aims to achieve qualitative leaps in various sports in the Kingdom by 2030, building an elite generation of athletes at regional and global levels.

Special focus has been placed on football with plans to position the Saudi Pro League among the top 10 in the world. Other goals include increasing league revenues from SR450 million ($120 million) to more than SR1.8 billion annually and raising its market value from SR3 billion to at least SR8 billion.

During a press conference, Saudi Minister of Sport Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal announced that four clubs were being converted into companies, having ownership transferred to development agencies.

He said Al-Qadisiyah Club was to be transferred to Saudi Aramco, Diraiyah Club to the Diriyah Gate Development Authority, AlUla Club to the Royal Commission for AlUla, and the Suqoor Club to NEOM.

The prince also revealed that the Saudi Public Investment Fund would be investing in Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Ahli and that the clubs would be converted into companies owned by the fund, and a non-profit institution for each club.

“Accordingly, an investment fund will be established for each of the eight club companies whose ownership has been transferred, and the value of the club will be deposited in the investment fund in exchange for the ownership transfer,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Public Investment Fund said that it will own 75 percent of the four clubs. “We will work on developing the four clubs financially and administratively,” the fund said in a statement carried out by Al-Ekhbariyah TV.

Speaking to Arab News, Al-Faisal said: “Let me start off with sending my greatest gratitude to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (for) their continuous support to the sports sector within the Kingdom... under the leadership of the crown prince and the ambitious plan within the Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia.

“There are a lot of programs and developments for each sector, and the sports sector is one of these sectors of the vision to fulfill these KPIs and these ambitious goals that we wish to achieve by 2030.

“Today, we see a big milestone within the sports sector that the ownership of the clubs has been transferred to a lot of different entities. These entities are some of the biggest entities within Saudi Arabia (not only) from a commercial value, but also these entities have a lot of developmental programs within the sports sector to develop youth and sports within their territory and so on.

He added: “By the end of 2023, we will also offer a number of clubs to be sold to the private sector, and I hope that this will invite more (companies) from the private sector to invest in these clubs and invest in the sports sector within the Kingdom.”


Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football

Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football
Updated 05 June 2023

Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football

Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football
  • Veteran striker Ibrahimovic revealed his decision to quit the game during an on-pitch ceremony following AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Verona

MILAN: Zlatan Ibrahimovic brought the curtain down on a long, trophy-packed career on Sunday when he unexpectedly announced his retirement from football.
Veteran striker Ibrahimovic revealed his decision to quit the game during an on-pitch ceremony following AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Verona.
“It’s the moment to say goodbye to football, not just to you,” said Ibrahimovic on the San Siro pitch.
“There are too many emotions for me right now. Forza Milan and goodbye.”
The 41-year-old had been expected to simply bid farewell to Milan fans after his departure from the seven-time European champions was announced on Saturday.
He returned to Milan in late 2019 for a second spell after a previous two-year period in which he won the Serie A title in 2011.
Ibrahimovic was a key figure in Milan’s resurgence to the top of Italian football after his return to the club, helping to bring them back from the doldrums and eventually win the Scudetto last season.
“The first time I came here you gave me happiness, the second time you gave me love,” said Ibrahimovic.
“You welcomed me with open arms, you made me feel at home, I will be a Milanista for the rest of my life.”
Over the course of his career Ibrahimovic won league titles in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France, although his only major European trophy was the 2017 Europa League with Manchester United.
He has hardly featured for Stefano Pioli’s side this term after being plagued with injuries, returning in February following surgery on his left knee in May.
In July he signed a deal which netted him around one million euros ($1.02 million) in fixed salary, with large bonuses linked to appearances and achievements.
But the 41-year-old only started one match and netted once for Milan this season, a 3-1 win at Udinese in March in which he became the oldest goal scorer in Serie A history.
He then picked up a calf injury in a pre-match warm up in April and ended his career sidelined before scotching rumors that he was set to move to Monza and targeting Euro 2024 with Sweden.