Patrick Vieira set for talks with Newcastle

Former-Arsenal star Patrick Vieira is set for talks with Newcastle about their managerial position

According to Sky Sports, Newcastle will hold talks with former-Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira about their managerial position next week.

Vieira is current the boss of Manchester City’s under-21 team, having been involved with the Citizens in various roles since 2011.

Crisis

Newcastle were a club in crisis last season, only securing their Premier League status on the final day of the campaign with a 2-0 victory over West Ham.

The Magpies looked in a comfortable midtable position when Alan Pardew left for Crystal Palace in January.

Former-assistant boss John Carver was initially given the role on an interim basis, before it was confirmed that the Geordie would remain in charge of the team for the remainder of the campaign.

Carver was a cheap option and obviously the Magpies hierarchy left the experienced coach in charge just to keep the seat warm until the summer. That decision nearly cost the Magpies their top-flight status as Newcastle lurched from defeat to defeat.

Carver never looked capable of managing the Magpies and looked out-of-his depth for most of his reign in charge. Quite simply it was a good job for the north east side that there were five worse teams than themselves in the end.

Interview

Prior to the Magpies final game of the season against West Ham, the clubs owner Mike Ashley gave his first interview to the media in eight years. I have got to admit I have never been a fan of how Ashley has run Newcastle.

However, to be fair to the Magpies owner he spoke with some sense and honesty. Maybe if he had come out earlier with that interview then the Newcastle fans would not have revolted like they have in recent months.

Favourite

Interestingly Vieira has become favourite for the Newcastle job at odds of 8/11, while Steve McClaren is odds of 5/4 and former-Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is odds of 10/1.

For a man with no managerial experience to be considered favourite for a Premier League job seems slightly strange to me.

Fresh

Newcastle need something to change and maybe a fresh approach from someone with the wealth of football experience of Vieira could bring a positive turnaround.

Vieira does not just have a lot of experience of playing the game, but he has experience of playing with some of the world’s best players and winning some of the biggest trophies in the game. The 38-year-old had a winning mentality and hated losing during his playing career.

Vieira is believed to be looking to get into management and maybe the Newcastle job could be a good place to start for the former-Gunners and France star.

Vieira has been doing his UEFA Pro license in Wales this week and seems enthusiastic about moving into management in the near future.

The other names mentioned are not exactly inspirational. McClaren has endured a mix record in football management and has just been sacked by Derby following the Rams disastrous end of season collapse.

By all accounts McClaren had the Rams playing some good football, but the fact that they did not even make the play-offs at the end of the season is rather concerning.

The former-England and Middlesbrough boss would probably not be a popular appointment among the Toon Army.

Laudrup is an interesting one, because he enjoyed a decent first season at Swansea but then in his second season in Wales the Swans struggled to find form and the Dane was sacked.

The Danish legend has recently stated that he does want to join another midtable team in any of the top European leagues, which means a team that has just finished 15^th in the Premier League is unlikely to appear to the former-Barcelona star.

John Carver surely cannot even be seriously considered as a candidate after possibly the worse ever performance of a Premier League boss in his short stint in charge.

Refreshing

Whenever a Premier League job becomes available at a mid-bottom half club the same old names seem to be linked with the job. It would be refreshing for a club like Newcastle to think outside the box of the usual suspects and appoint a fresh face.

Vieira may not have any top-flight managerial experience, but he has a wealth of football knowledge that would put most bosses to shame. More importantly he is a winner and has a winning mentality, which has been missing from Newcastle in recent seasons.

Appointing the Frenchman as their new boss maybe considered a gamble, but let’s face it he cannot do as badly as John Carver. Newcastle are badly in need of a new direction and fresh impetus and Vieira may just be the man to provide that next season.

Would Patrick Vieira be a good appointment for Newcastle?