new regime upon his own
arrival.
Llambias though was
now at the football club and with
his feet firmly under the proverbial
table. And, with the new boardroom changes heralding in a new
dimension in the form of a new
management team underneath that
of Ashley and Llambias that saw the
formation of what became known as
‘the cockney mafia.’ Llambias, a businessman in his own right following
some three decades in the leisure
and entertainment industry would
head this new team which consisted
of David Williamson (Executive
Director of Operations), Dennis Wise
(Executive Director of Football) and
Tony Jimenez. According to Hall, and
the vast majority of the Toon Army,
this was the first, big mistake within
the club, and it would only get worse,
continuing to do so as the club enters
the 2013-14 Premier League season.
The Ashley-Llambias jigsaw was all
but complete, just a few more pieces
needed then they could get on with
dismantling the club from the inside
out. That completion would soon
arrive in the form of Londoner, Alan
Pardew, and a move that far from
going down well with supporters and
would become the sixth man at the
helm in what was then a two year
timeframe.
Under the new regime Keegan
lasted eight months, Chris Hughton
(then Keegan’s assistant) a handful of
matches as interim, the ‘legendary’
Joe Kinnear another eight months
and the master, Alan Shearer closing
that 2008-09 season with a few
months at the helm that culminated
in relegation. Hughton returned taking the position on a full time basis
and led the club to promotion with
the Championship title under his belt
but lasted months in the top flight,
the new regime ripping the heart out
of the club and replacing him with
Pardew in December of 2010.
So, what did go wrong after all of
that? Well, where do you actually begin as it really has been one dilemma
after another?
Llambias’ five year spell at the football club has been tarnished throughout with some rather alarming events
being placed upon his timeline, be it
directly or indirectly, but ultimately
connected to the man ‘affectionately
known as ‘Dekka’ to the masses –
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Ashley’s right hand man, Ashley’s
puppet master supreme. And,
irrespective of what went wrong
at the football club over those five
years, you can be all but assured that
those behind the scenes were at fault,
either in part or in full.
The past two years at the club
though has been nothing but hell for
those connected to the club. Granted
Pardew has all but won over the fans,
leading the Magpies back into Europe
last season (2012-13) after finishing
a respectable fifth the previous one.
However, results last season show
that those cracks, and the connection
to those above him, burn deep.
Back in late 2011 the supporters
were hit with Llambias’ verbal
attacks on club legends, former
players/managers Alan Shearer and
Kevin Keegan stating that “Shearer
was my choice and I have to hold
up my hands – the wrong choice,”
and “Kevin Keegan can’t take the
pressure, his head is all over the
place.” In all, blaming Shearer for the
club’s fall from the Premiership in
2009 and this was coupled with news
that crushed all in Newcastle; the hierarchy were to rename the stadium,
effectively bringing to an end 119
years of history that had enveloped
St. James’ Park. The sole response
from the club when changing the
name to the Sports Direct Arena was
‘done in order to generate revenue.’
There was the unceremonious
sacking of Hughton in December
2010, eventually replaced with
Pardew and which Llambias said,
nearly two years later that “we had
a different view of wher