Newcastle 1966/67 Management

Release Me

Coach Jimmy Greenhalgh left to take over as manager of Darlington; he was replaced by Ron Lewin

All or Nothing

With United struggling to hang on to top flight status during the previous campaign mainly due to a lack of firepower it was no secret that United were after a quality centre-forward and a winger to supply him

But although Harvey was linked with a number of players there were no new faces at the start of the season. Speculation in the media suggested the failings were largely a result of a lack of cash

Allegedly Ron Davies could have arrived from Norwich if United had been prepared to match the £50,000 fee that The Canaries wanted. Also Celtic manager Jock Stein blasted the directors over their handling of an abortive move for John Hughes accusing them of "stealing publicity" (ie making a play for a player they had no intention of signing). Davies ended up going to Southampton and was the top scorer in the League.

In an attempt to raise some cash Harvey was looking to offload a number of players including McGarry, Penman, Knox, Napier and Hollins but willing buyers were just as elusive.

Summer in the City

The summer was dominated by England's World Cup success, but on a parochial level the United fans missed on seeing games played at SJP as a result of the ongoing battle between the club and the council.

The war of words continued with the council and the club used the programme for the Fulham game to print a double page justification of their position.

The rejected claims that they had done nothing to improve facilities and pointed to a number of development requests turned down by the council.

As a consequence they made it clear in capital letters that "THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER THAT THE BLAME FOR THE LOSS OF THE WORLD CUP MATCHES LIES ENTIRELY WITH NEWCASTLE CITY COUNCIL".

They claimed that long-term planning was impossible with the five year lease that had been forded to sign (due to expire in January 1971) and complained bitterly about a 500% increase in the rent to £2,500 per year.

Dead End Street

Large elements of the Gallowgate crowd were revolting against the board. The continuing struggle against relegation was laid directly at their door with their lack of spending being adjudged the primary factor

The AGM was held at the start of October and most of the discussion centred around the club's shortage of money.

Shareholder Ernest Pringle put forward an "invest in United" plan which involved the club raising £250,000 capital by issuing shares on debentures.

The directors - having taken "professional advice" later decided that they thought the plan would not work claiming the Stock Market would "not accept" a football club due to it's fluctuating profits. They also said it would be too costly to administer and not feasible given the fact that the club's lease on the ground ran out in four years time.

Council leader Bert Abrahart declared himself "disgusted" and responded by demanding the wholesale resignation of the Board. He also reiterated that there was no way that the council would not renew the lease; although it was laced with a threat as he suggested the new lease would "carry conditions" about how the land was to be used.

As it happens there was more entrenchment, ex RAF Squadron leader and current glass manufacturer Jimmy Rush was co-opted to the board to replace the recently deceased Wally Hurford.

Ernest meanwhile described the decision a ludicrous and suggested that the directors did not want to go to the stock exchange because they did not want to lose their control over the club.

So the impasse deepened and the ground remained redeveloped as encapsulated by Mr Pringle "show me another ground in England where there is a refreshment counter eight feet from a toilet"

Hey Joe