Souness draws up new code of conduct as player exodus beckons

Simon Turnbull
Sunday 24 April 2005 00:00 BST
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It might just have been coincidence, but on Friday afternoon Graeme Souness had a near-full complement of first-team players in tow at the opening of the Newcastle United Superstore in the south-east corner of St James' Park. Only Lee Bowyer was absent. He was on fighting duty in London - battling, vainly, as it proved, against a Football Association charge of violent conduct.

On his return to Tyneside, with an additional three-match ban, the one-time England midfielder might well have been advised to check out the new club shop. With its two storeys and 1,000 square metres of space, it has ample room for the shelf-load of players Souness is preparing to put on sale this summer.

Asked earlier whether Bowyer had a future at St James' next season, the Newcastle manager replied: "We shall see what the summer brings." Asked whether Nicky Butt had a future, Souness repeated: "We shall see what the summer brings."

It could be that the summer brings a lack of interest in all of the ill-disciplined and underperforming members of the Newcastle squad, but it has become clear in the fall-out from all the controversies, and in the wake of their fall out of the Uefa and FA Cups, that the stock of players deemed surplus to requirements has risen halfway to job-lot proportions. The names of Craig Bellamy and Hugo Viana have already been airbrushed from the squad list in the club programme, and that of Patrick Kluivert is certain to disappear, too, after the lead-swinging Dutchman collects the final £67,000 weekly instalment of his 12-month contract.

The loose-tongued Laurent Robert and the loose-cannon Bowyer would also appear to be on the unwanted list. Then there is Celestine Babayaro, whose lack of commitment since his £1m January move from Chelsea has infuriated the backroom staff at St James' - and Butt, who would need to make a dramatic recovery from an injury sustained in training on Friday and beat his old team-mates on his own in the Premiership engagement at Old Trafford this afternoon to start winning round the supporters and critics who questioned for which United he was playing in the 4-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat against Man-chester United last Sunday. There are question marks, too, about Kieron Dyer, Darren Ambrose and Andy O'Brien.

In an effort to draw a definitive line under a season undermined from within, Souness has drawn up a new code of conduct for Newcastle players - and a long list of new players he would like at the club. Significantly, he has also carried out background checks on his potential recruits. "We've already done all of our checks," he said. "You find out as much as you can about players' characters before you spend big money and commit to four- and five-year contracts."

Asked how many "bad eggs" it took to spoil a dressing room, Souness added: "I'm not talking about Bellamy or any other individual, but if you have a bad one and a few sympathetic ears then you have a problem. We will sort it out for next year... For us to be successful, we can't continue like we have been. We can't have another season like this. Let's see what new faces are here and what faces are not. Let's see what sort of squad we have to work with."

Back in September, Souness proclaimed that the squad he inherited from Sir Bobby Robson was "probably the best I have ever worked with". Seven months on, the same squad has become a collection of misfits to rival Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift. Ironically, two members of the cast already cast aside on loan are playing starring roles in teams still on the trail of silverware. Bellamy lines up for Celtic at Ibrox today, on course for a Scottish League and Cup double. Viana returns to Uefa Cup duty for Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of their semi-final at home to AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, having been prevented by the terms of his loan arrangement from playing against Newcastle in the quarter-finals.

The Portuguese midfielder leapt out of the home dugout to hug the Sporting players when the final whistle confirmed Newcastle's 4-1 defeat in the Estadio Jose Alvalade 10 days ago. His nominal clubmates from Tyneside lost their last hope of silverware with their 4-1 defeat in Cardiff three days later. And now, after an injury-time loss at Norwich on Wednesday, they have to face Manchester United again today. Still, at least history could be on their side. The last time Newcastle beat the Mancunian United at Old Trafford came precisely seven days after a similarly painful FA Cup humiliation - the loss to the part-timers of Hereford back in 1972.

"Yeah, it's been a tough few weeks," Shola Ameobi, scorer of last Sunday's hollow consolation goal, reflected, "but we want to get one back over them. We'll be going to Old Trafford to fight like hell." On the evidence of seven days ago, Fergie's Red Devils could well make it a hellish fight for Souness's team and for Ameobi - who happens to be the son of a Christian minister, and one Newcastle player who never needed a character check.

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