Newcastle United

Jonas Gutierrez made an emotional return to the Newcastle United first team on Wednesday evening after a 17-month absence, during which he overcame testicular cancer.

The Argentinean last appeared for the Magpies in their 2-1 win over Cardiff in October 2013. Six months ago, he was still battling his illness, but the 31-year-old made a return to the squad during last week's win over Aston Villa as an unused substitute.

During Newcastle's 1-0 loss to Manchester United, Gutierrez finally returned to the hallowed turf of St James' Park when he made a 65th-minute substitute appearance in place of Ryan Taylor. Fabricio Coloccini duly handed over the captain's armband.

As expected, he was given an extremely warm reception by the home fans, and the Toon Army's outpouring of goodwill was replicated by fans of all clubs on Twitter...

Great to see Jonas Gutierrez back in the @premierleague today for @NUFC after his battle with cancer. Inspiring. pic.twitter.com/Vg8HxXuEGt

— The Soccer Daily (@RealSoccerDaily) March 4, 2015

Jonas Gutierrez is coming on. John Carver smiled as he told him the good news. Standing ovation here. #NUFCvMUFC

— John Brewin (@JohnBrewin_) March 4, 2015

It's brilliant to see Jonas Gutierrez fight cancer and return to football. A battle well won! #jonasgutierrez #welcomeback

— Jonathan Ainsworth (@jonoainsworth) March 4, 2015

So good seeing Gutierrez back on the pitch

— Tasha Coppin (@tashaacoppin) March 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/KaylaKnappFOX/status/573228612226138112

Jonah Gutierrez is an inspiration. What a baller

— Will Sergeant (@wsrgnt) March 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/Bertitude/status/573235554516516865

What a moment. Welcome back, Jonas #nufc #gutierrez pic.twitter.com/0MCMPWp17r

— Anthony Marshall (@AntMarshallTHFC) March 4, 2015

https://twitter.com/CaulkinTheTimes/status/573228354733809666

Football 1 Cancer 0

Welcome back to football, Jonás Gutiérrez!

— indykaila News (@indykaila) March 4, 2015

Follow me @RyanJayBailey.

Jonas Gutierrez returned to playing action for Newcastle United on Wednesday at St James' Park for the first time in 18 months having won his battle against testicular cancer.

The home side relayed the news as Gutierrez replaced Ryan Taylor with the score 0-0 against Manchester United:

64' - Substitution for Newcastle United. Welcome back, @elgalgojonas! Huge roar as he replaces Ryan Taylor. #NUFC

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) March 4, 2015

The club also provided the information that Fabricio Coloccini handed his fellow Argentine the captain's armband as he came on to the field:

65' - Fabricio Coloccini hands Jonas Gutierrez his captain's armband. #NUFC

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) March 4, 2015

Toon manager John Carver had suggested Gutierrez could return against the Red Devils, and he made good on his promise, to rapturous applause.

The 31-year-old winger underwent surgery to treat his cancer in September of last year, and he returned to training with the Magpies in November after chemotherapy treatment.

Not two minutes into his return, Gutierrez was booked by the referee, per Newcastle:

67' - Anthony Taylor becomes an extremely unpopular man inside St. James' Park... yellow card for Jonas Gutierrez. #NUFC

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) March 4, 2015

There will no doubt be huge eagerness from the entire footballing community to see Gutierrez continue to make regular appearances after Wednesday's return.

Anderlecht defender Chancel Mbemba has been linked with Newcastle United, despite the fact that nobody seems to know what age he is.

The Congo defender has been playing for the Belgian giants since 2012, but it is still unclear whether he is close to his prime or still just a promising youngster. 

The Sun reported Newcastle's interest by saying: 

Toon super spy Graham Carr made a personal trip to check on versatile Mbemba on his return from the African Cup of Nations where he played for Congo.

Mbemba will leave Belgium in the summer and the Geordies are keen as we revealed last year, but they still worry about his exact age because of conflicting information in his records.

The confusion of Mbemba's age was reported by CNN in 2013 in an article entitled: "Football's age fraud: FIFA probes player with 'four birthdays.'"

In the report, CNN revealed:

Mbemba was registered by his two first Congolese clubs as being born in 1988, according to documents obtained by CNN. Yet for a Cup of Nations qualifier in June 2011, his year of birth was listed as November 30, 1991.

Meanwhile, the birth date recorded by his Belgian club Anderlecht is August 8, 1994.

Just to complicate matters, Mbemba himself, thinks he was born in 1990.

If he is a good player, he is a good player, but you can imagine Newcastle being keen to get this sorted out before putting an offer on the table.

[The Sun, CNN]

Newcastle United midfielder Jonas Gutierrez is in the squad ahead of the club's weekend clash with Aston Villa for the first time since completing treatment for testicular cancer.

The Magpies passed along confirmation from manager John Carver:

JC: "Jonas Gutierrez is in the squad. There's a possibility he could be on the bench and that's a massive lift for everyone." #NUFC

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) February 26, 2015

BBC Sport reports the 31-year-old veteran has been training with Newcastle since November after undergoing surgery in September. He got a chance to play in a recent U-21 Premier League Cup match as he built back toward full strength.

Whether he will get an opportunity to play on Saturday or in the near future is unclear. As Carver notes, however, simply having him back as an active member of the squad should provide an emotional boost for his teammates.

Sky Sports passed along comments from Gutierrez, who thanked everybody for their support:

I'm healthy. My treatment has finished and I'm training with the team. I'm so proud to be back, they have always supported me since my illness and Newcastle have always given me support.

They stayed with me through a hard moment of my life; my team-mates send me messages and call me to ask how the treatment is going. I was so pleased to get those calls and those messages.

The treatment was hard. The chemotherapy is a hard treatment but I have a lot of power from the fans and from my team-mates, they always support me.

Once he does return to the pitch it will likely take some time for him to regain top form. That's always the case when a player misses an extended stretch. And Newcastle, which sit in the middle of the table, can afford to work him back in slowly.

Gutierrez has made nearly 200 appearances across all competitions for the club since arriving from Mallorca. Getting back on the pitch is an accomplishment in itself. Everything else is a bonus for the rest of the campaign.

John Carver may have been appointed Newcastle manager until the end of the current Premier League campaign, but he could prove as disastrous as Joe Kinnear if kept beyond that.

As a manager, Carver shares two negative qualities with Kinnear: poor man-management skills and a concerning lack of professionalism.

More importantly, like the ex-Newcastle gaffer, the results on the pitch have not been forthcoming.

The temporary Newcastle boss has overseen one Premier League win in seven games, taking six points from the last 21 available.

That represents relegation form, and though the Magpies are currently in mid-table safety, defeat to Manchester City could leave the club with the second-lowest points total in the division over the last six games.

Only Aston Villa, a club who recently sacked manager Paul Lambert, will have fared worse regardless of the result on Saturday, and that is a cause for concern.

More worrying has been the way in which Carver has championed his own cause when it comes to landing the job over the needs of the team.

After Newcastle’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea, a game in which the Toon started brightly before fading, only one topic dominated his post-match interview—his interaction with Jose Mourinho:

"It was nice. At the end of the game he said 'you deserve the job, you're ready for it now. I hope you get it'. We just laughed and he gave me another hug - he must have hugged me 10 times. He kicked the ball at me once as well, but I didn't react. I've calmed down now!"

The quotes revealed not only an underlying naivety on Carver’s part but another potential problem.

Mourinho may well have been pleased with Carver—his team had just beaten Newcastle after all—yet the time for fawning over the Special One was not then.

A 2-0 loss to Chelsea is no small feat, but rather than championing his own cause, Carver should have let the performance do the talking and asked questions as to why Newcastle lost.

His jokes about failing to "react" to Mourinho kicking the ball at him also appeared to reference another cause for concern: Carver’s temper.

Prior to his appointment at St James’ Park, the Newcastle coach had a reputation for being hot-headed.

In September 2014, Carver landed himself in hot water after reacting badly to criticism from Newcastle fans following a 4-0 defeat to Southampton.

As The Independent reported, the then-assistant manager angrily confronted Toon supporters carrying a "Pardew Out" banner, in the stadium, after the game.

Carver is said to have sworn at the fans, who had spent much of the match voicing their discontent with the club.

The incident is not the only flashpoint from Carver’s time at Newcastle, though.

Back in March 2013, he was involved in a touchline confrontation with Callum McManaman following a robust challenge on Massadio Haidara during a league clash with Wigan.

The Guardian’s Jamie Jackson also points to a incident from Sir Bobby Robson’s time in charge involving Craig Bellamy that is chronicled in the player’s autobiography Goodfella:

I was talking to someone else and I mentioned 'JC' loudly enough to make sure he heard me poking fun at him. He snapped and came marching over. I was yelling at him and he was yelling at me ... We ended up wrestling stupidly on the floor.

The incident adds to the picture of Carver as a volatile individual in line with the worst traits of his predecessor.

Alan Pardew was lucky to keep his job at Newcastle following his headbutt, via the BBC, on David Meyler, not just because of the confrontation but also the results that followed.

In the immediate aftermath of that game, which the Magpies won 4-1, Newcastle lost eight of their remaining 10 Premier League fixtures.

Carver’s previous confrontation with the fans at Southampton had a similarly negative effect with Newcastle failing to pick up a win in three games against Hull, Stoke and Swansea.

These incidents highlight the important role of a manager in setting the mood of the first-team squad and why another Carver confrontation is both likely and potentially highly damaging.

Aside from temper tantrums, Carver also needs to develop his man-management skills, as a recent confrontation with Remy Cabella highlighted.

Substituted during Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with the Potters, the Frenchman reacted badly.

Though Carver was justified in having a quiet word with the winger regarding his conduct, he opted to do this in the public eye.

"You have to respect everybody. Everybody has to be patient for their chance," he said in a post-match interview.

"If you have to come off and somebody else goes on, don't be disrespectful to your team-mates."

Disrespectful or otherwise, the comments could have been reserved for the changing room and, rather than encourage a team ethic, singled out Cabella.

This came despite a recent upturn in form from the Frenchman, who had scored on his first Premier League goal for the club in their previous game against Hull.

It was also an incident strangely reminiscent of Kinnear’s fractious relationship with Charles N’Zogbia, with Kinnear often opting to air his dirty laundry in public.

The clash also served to further highlight Carver's lack of discretion when it came to in-house discipline, something that could prove troublesome as the season progresses.

In a famous tweet sent after Pardew's exit, Gary Lineker made a rather cutting joke:

Brilliant tactics from Newcastle board to delay appointing their new manager so they don't have to buy any players in the transfer window.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) January 13, 2015

But with Carver now installed, there is a sneaking suspicion that the Match of the Day presenter may have had a point.

Despite a raft of summer signings, strikers such as Facundo Ferreyra and Emmanuel Riviere have failed to impress while Siem de Jong remains sidelined with injury and there were no new arrivals last month.

That leaves Carver with just two realistic forward-going options in Papiss Cisse and Ayoze Perez.

An injury to the Senegalese star, who has scored 10 goals so far this season, would pose a major problem, and with Cisse still recovering from a serious knee problem, it's not out of the question.

The next five games offer no respite, with the Magpies facing Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton and Arsenal as well as a potentially rejuvenated Villa.

Survive the season in the Premier League and major changes are required.

Newcastle need a savvy man-manager capable of staying cool under pressure, working within the confines of the Ashley regime and promoting young talent—Carver may not be any of these.

But then maybe that has been the plan all along: Let Carver rage for the rest of the season before bringing in Remi Garde.

The manager who laid the foundations for Lyon’s success on a shoestring budget by promoting youngsters and bedding in bargain signings, the Frenchman is a gamble, but he could be the kind of appointment to help Newcastle get back to the top table of English football.

If Lyon in a league of super-rich sides like PSG and AS Monaco can do it, then Newcastle have a chance.

However, should Carver stay in charge, then Newcastle may be looking at another long season, followed by a drop down into the Championship.

John Carver’s official appointment as Newcastle United interim manager until the summer has been met with a mixed response. As with so many moves that Mike Ashley has made at the helm, it’s difficult to ascertain exactly where his best interests lie.

Carver’s credentials as a coach—as well as his passion for the club—are unquestionable, and now, 11 years after he last had a stint in charge of the Magpies, he is finally being given the opportunity to truly show what he can do.

There are questions to be asked about his ability to make the step up from coaching to the managerial hot seat. His only spell as a head coach came at Toronto FC, and lasted a little over a year. His one full season in charge saw the Reds finish bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Football is littered with examples of superb coaches who didn’t have either the tactical nous or the man management skills to cope as managers, and Carver’s interim spell interview didn’t exactly bode well for the Tyneside native.

In four games, he drew his first—taking the lead three times against an injury-ravaged Burnley side—and lost the subsequent three. Despite a spirited display away to Chelsea, it wasn’t a promising return. A loss to Leicester City in the FA Cup was particularly chastening.

The argument can be made—and has been done so by the club’s hierarchy—that Carver’s appointment has been motivated by the club not wishing to pick a new coach too hastily. Predecessor Alan Pardew was part-way through an eight year contract when he left for Crystal Palace, which is demonstrative of Ashley’s desire to stand by his man once he’s chosen him.

From a more cynical—although not unjustified—point of view, the choice of Carver could be seen as indicative of the lack of ambition that Ashley has shown throughout his time in charge. He famously issued down the edict that success in cup competitions was undesirable due to the apparent correlation between cup runs and relegation. While Carver clearly wants the best for the club, he is unlikely to rock the boat when it comes to standing up to Ashley.

This perception about Ashley’s unwillingness to take the club forward has been exacerbated by the growing likelihood of him taking over Rangers. He will be content to simply keep the Magpies’ biggest on-pitch asset—their Premier League status—intact.

Newcastle’s 3-0 victory away to a desperately poor Hull City team should give the side the springboard they need for safety this season, and if the players continue to perform for “the Miserable One,” it’s not inconceivable that Carver will be given the job permanently in the summer.

It’s hard to see him bringing about the long-term success that a club of Newcastle’s stature deserve, but at this stage in the Ashley era, it’s difficult to see whoever replaces him bringing any real joy to St. James' Park either.

The story of John Carver's Newcastle appointment is one of dual narratives.

In the first, we have a locally born and raised 50-year-old coach whose mandate to take pitch-level charge of his favourite club is nothing short of a lifelong dream come true.

CONFIRMED: John Carver has been named as #NUFC head coach until the end of the 2014/15 season. http://t.co/zDKPhSmy0P pic.twitter.com/PHefkyeCx6

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) January 26, 2015

"This is a proud day for me," he told Newcastle's official website upon the announcement that his interim position, which opened up when Alan Pardew bolted for Crystal Palace, would be extended until the end of the season. "I have worked with, and learned from, the best manager that this football club has had in Sir Bobby Robson. I know what this club means to this city and its people."

Heartwarming stuff—and incredibly naive when the second narrative is introduced.

In that one we have the quick, perhaps surprising rise of a Newcastle functionary who, last spring, was promoted from football secretary into owner Mike Ashley's inner circle.

Lee Charnley, the current managing director, holds the real power at St James' Park, and if he has his way he'll keep clutch of it no matter the managers who come and go during his time in charge.

https://twitter.com/ncjMediaJames/status/557640902492299264

That is to say, head coaches. Because the idea of an old-fashioned manager who has top-to-bottom oversight of the playing staff is one he's on record as saying he's intent on doing away with.

"When we put the statement out when Alan left we chose our words very carefully in terms of what we would be looking for as a replacement," he told Mark Douglas of the Chronicle last week. "We are looking for a head coach...we're moving away from the traditional manager, in terms of title and perception."

He added: "We're looking for someone who will work within our parameters and will buy into and work with us in terms of what we do and how we operate."

This is what John Carver has had to say: He has failed to win any of his four caretaker games in charge #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/2ZyLBDr4HG

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 26, 2015

In other words, what Newcastle want is a company man—a pushover who won't make a fuss when players are sold and transfer strategies determined, a coach who will take the training of the team because Chanley, perhaps the ideal manager in his own mind, just can't be two places at once.

Not surprisingly, the direction to which the 37-year-old has turned the club hasn't gone down all that well.

On the last Sunday Supplement panel, Shaun Custis of The Sun remarked, as per Sky Sports, that the "soul" was "being sucked out of Newcastle United." And in a scathing column for the Mirror, Andy Dunn opined that Newcastle were becoming a club that "doesn't want a manger," that "will sell its best players" and that "cares for nothing but commerce."

Granted, the head coaching arrangement is something that long ago became common on the continent, where clubs hired managing directors and directors of football long before the practice crossed the Channel.

But where Newcastle fall foul even of that structure is in both the scarcity of input Ashley accommodates (Charnley's obviously is one) as well as their seeming complacency with being little more than a footballers' clearing house.

John Carver to remain in charge at #NUFC until the end of the season. Lee Charnley from #NUFC has had this to say. pic.twitter.com/9fBjYKXgJK

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 26, 2015

These are troubling times at St James' Park, where one of the few smiles to be found is on the beaming face of Carver.

His part of the narrative is a good one. The other could prove to be ruinous.

Newcastle United officially announced John Carver will be the team's head coach until the end of the 2014-15 season, having coached the club on an interim basis for the past few weeks in the wake of Alan Pardew's departure.     

The club released a statement via their official website, with managing director Lee Charnley admitting the decision was made due to a lack of opportunities to find a quality head coach who would be able to start immediately:

At the beginning of this process it was my desire and intention to appoint an individual to the position of head coach who would be available to start immediately.

Having now explored at some length the options available to us at this time, the decision has been taken to defer the appointment of a permanent head coach until the end of the season.

The head coach will be a long-term appointment that will play a major role in shaping the future on-field progression of Newcastle United and it is vitally important that we get the right individual.

Goal UK's Graeme Bailey chimed in on the matter, coming up with three candidates who could be up for the job at the end of the season:

Leading Newcastle targets Garde, McClaren and Galtier all would prefer summer move - which has forced them to make Carver decision.

— Graeme Bailey (@GraemeBailey) January 26, 2015

The Magpies started the season in dreadful form before a resurgence took the club into the top seven of the Premier League standings. The struggles returned late in 2014, and Pardew departed for Crystal Palace, with Carver taking his place.

As shared by Sky Sports, the 50-year-old hasn't been wildly successful so far:

NEXT reaction to Carver taking charge of Newcastle until end of season. Here's his record as caretaker manager #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/KatbQTF1lB

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 26, 2015

Carver could probably land a permanent gig beyond the end of the current campaign with an unexpected run to the top five in the second half of the season, but it's far more likely the club will take their time and search for an established manager during the summer.

With few notable managers available in January, the decision to go with the stability Carver represents is an understandable one.    

Follow @ReverschPass

Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley caused uproar among fans when he announced on Tuesday night that the club may wait until the summer to appoint Alan Pardew's replacement—but it's a sensible decision.

Newcastle are currently 11th in the Premier League and have had a disappointing season, save only for a strong spell around November.

In a rare interview with the Evening Chronicle's Mark Douglas, Charnley opened up on why the club is yet to replace Pardew, who departed St James' Park for Crystal Palace on 2 January.

Charnley admitted the club was caught off guard by Pardew's exit but has had more than 80 applications for the managerial vacancy. He said:

We've got a number of options: clearly my preference is to try and find someone to bring in now. However, because it will be a long-term commitment, if I have to wait until the summer for what I believe is the right individual then I would rather wait than actually take someone now who I think isn't the best fit.

I'm not going to take someone who is free and available now if we have a better option and options by waiting until the end of the season. I know that won't be an entirely popular point of view but for me that is the most sensible thing to do. It is about the medium to long term and ensuring we get the 'right one.'

A number of fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the announcement. Even former Magpies striker Mick Quinn described the interview as "the final insult:"

@mickquinn1089 @ChronicleNUFC it's a brutally honest slap in the face 2 us all. Not what we want to hear, but what we expected to hear #nufc

— Craig (@craigbeavers) January 21, 2015

Luke Edwards of The Telegraph wasn't too impressed either:

I think best adjective I can use about Charnley interview is bland but at least he's spoken. He just doesn't have anything good to say #nufc

— Luke Edwards (@LukeEdwardsTele) January 20, 2015

But for once, the Newcastle board are right.

To clarify, the interview contained very little for fans to get excited about, and the fact remains that Mike Ashley has very little ambition for the club beyond raking in the TV money until he moves on to Rangers.

Charnley's confirmation that the club does not expect to be active in January is a worry. The club is desperate for a new striker at the very least, and given that Charnley confirmed the new man won't have the final say on new signings, there's no reason why Newcastle can't dip into the market.

Charnley described January as an unattractive window, and yet the Magpies have made a higher percentage of January signings in the last five years than any other Premier League club, per the Evening Chronicle (via infogr.am):

Nevertheless, on the issue of the club waiting to ensure they get the right manager, it's the right thing to do.

For a whole host of reasons, Pardew was deeply unpopular with the majority of the Toon Army.

Newcastle, not that they have a good track record of appeasing the fans' concerns, need to make sure they appoint the right man who can give fans a reason to get excited about the team again.

Unfortunately, little seems to have changed for the club under John Carver. The team have lost two of his three league games in charge—admittedly against Chelsea and Southampton—but also drew at home to Burnley and lost to Leicester City in the FA Cup.

Yet again, it seems as though Newcastle fans could be in for a disappointing end to the season.

However, if the club is able to bring in a quality coach come the end of the season, it will have been worth it.

Ashley has shown patience in sticking with Pardew throughout his many low points at the club, so his replacement will be at the club for the foreseeable future.

Would fans rather the club act now and bring in someone inexperienced like Tim Sherwood? Or would they rather wait until the summer and secure one of the higher-profile names they've been linked with?

The higher-profile names are encouraging besides.

Louise Taylor of the Guardian reports Newcastle have held talks with Remi Garde. The former Olympique Lyonnais boss has only three years of management under his belt.

However, he guided his side to two third-place finishes and a fifth-place finish in that time, while working on a limited budget in a league containing mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco. He also took Lyon to three cup finals, winning one of them.

The Toon have also been linked with Ajax's Frank de Boer, per Lee Ryder of the Evening Chronicle.

De Boer became the first manager to win the Eredivisie four years running and has made good use of Ajax's academy while his best players are routinely sold to bigger clubs. Not only would he be a good fit, he recently spoke of his admiration for the north-east outfit:

"Newcastle are a sleeping giant, with a great stadium and most loyal fans, but what else can I say? I'll be with Ajax for the remainder of the season anyway."

The Press Association, via the Guardian, add several other candidates for the job.

Christophe Galtier, who guided Saint-Etienne to fourth last year. Thomas Tuchel, the former Mainz manager who had five exciting years in the Bundesliga. Steve McClaren, who won the League Cup and reached a UEFA Cup final with Middlesbrough, as well as winning an Eredivisie title with FC Twente.

With the quality of manager available to Newcastle in the summer (Garde and De Boer in particular), a few more difficult months is nothing the fans can't handle.

The fans deserve far better than what they've been given during Ashley's tenure, but if they can secure De Boer or Garde this summer, then the right decision may finally have been made.

Contrary to popular belief, Newcastle fans don't expect the world from their team. Not title challenges, not top-four finishes. But what they do desire is a passionate manager who can get the team playing attractive, attacking football.

A good cup run and a team that can challenge for a UEFA Europa League place is also on the wishlist. For a club the size of Newcastle, with 52,000 fans cheering their team on week in, week out, these aren't unrealistic expectations.

There are several managers who can get the fans excited and optimistic about the team again, after some very disappointing years following 2012's miraculous fifth-place finish. Now it's down to the club to take their time and bring in the one who's right for the club, the team and the supporters.

And who knows, if the new man is around for as long as Pardew was, he might just outlast Ashley and his lack of ambition.

Media speculation linking Fabricio Coloccini to the Newcastle United hot seat has been a constant theme throughout the current season. An underwhelming start to the 2014/15 season raised the pressure for former manager Alan Pardew, who barely enjoyed a single week without speculation over his future. 

An entertaining yet disastrous draw at home to Burnley sealed Pardew's fate on New Year's Day. The Magpies had led three times before tying 3-3, extending their Premier League drought to just two wins in their last eight outings.

Then, the inevitable occurred. The manager may have avoided the sack, but one suspects that the Newcastle board put up little fight to keep him from joining Crystal Palace. John Carver took over as caretaker, but a third-round exit from the FA Cup and consecutive Premier League defeats, pushing the Tynesiders down to 10th, hardly bode well. 

CONFIRMED: Alan Pardew has been released from his contract to become Crystal Palace manager. http://t.co/zDKPhSmy0P. pic.twitter.com/z5mYQvEuoP

— Newcastle United (@NUFC) January 3, 2015

Rumours over Coloccini had been circulating long before Pardew's departure. As reported by the Daily Mail, the Argentine was quickly installed as bookmakers' favourite to take over as Pardew negotiated with Palace. Coloccini, however, tried to distance himself from the speculation. 

"I am a football player now and want to play for a few years more. I want to enjoy being on the pitch," he said in the new year. 

"It's not for now."

The defender, 32, does have a handful of qualities that mark him out as a possible successor. Coloccini has worn the captain's armband for Newcastle for the last four years, a mark of his commitment and loyalty to the Magpies. He stuck with the club during its darkest days, playing in their campaign in the Championship back in 2009/10. 

He undoubtedly commands respect in the dressing room, and would have the advantage of coming at a far more economic rate than many of Europe's top tacticians, perhaps not a small consideration for those in charge at St. James' Park. 

Now, though, is not the time for Newcastle to be experimenting with an untried, inexperienced manager. Coloccini has never directed a team from the bench, and indeed should have at least three years left in professional football. Expecting the centre-back to perform the double role of commanding the defence and taking over the team as a whole appears a recipe for disaster. 

The constant talk of a Newcastle exit does not help matters either. Last year, as Neil Cameron of Newcastle's Evening Chronicle recalls, the captain pushed hard for a move back to his first club, current Copa Libertadores champions San Lorenzo. Now he has opted out of a club trip to the United Arab Emirates, preferring to spend the time back in his native Argentina instead. 

With Coloccini's form for the Magpies near an all-time low, placing so much trust in a rookie with an uncertain future would hardly garner a vote of confidence from long-suffering fans. Looking past the figure at the back, and investing in a manager with proven Premier League experience is the best option for Newcastle at this delicate time for the north-east giant.