Newcastle 1970/71 Management

Hey Joe

It was a tough old season for Joe Harvey. It was thought that the Fairs Cup campaign had given him almost £100,000 to spend but the right players were just not available at the right price

The players he bought during the summer and early in the season either failed to impress (Ian Mitchell) or were youngsters not ready for regular first team action (Stewart Barrowclough and Tommy Cassiddy).

Mid-table mediocrity, a lack of goals and the shock Fairs Cup exit all piled pressure on the manager. Pop Robson's "unprofessional" accusation and criticism of the team's style of play also undermined Harvey's authority. He might have led them to European glory in 1968/69 but there were already calls for Joe to be moved upstairs

Entertain? We prefer to win

Of course in reality Harvey was a motivator not a tactician and the way the team played during his thirteen year tenure was influenced by the coaches he employed

Dave Smith had become chief coach in the summer of '68 and was well respected within the game. He also had very clear views about how it should be played and was not prepared to bow to populist pressure for more entertaining football.

"Success must be your priority, the overriding ambition. We don't want to entertain people and become failures What is essential is a foundation of confidence and then we can start to elaborate"

Just in case you were in any doubt about his attitude he also described Pele - whilst accepting he was a marvellous player - as "lazy".