Champ Manager 01/02: Newcastle Revival (Pre-Season 01, Part 1)

Here we go again. Mothers lock up your daughters, and Fathers give your Son ‘the talk’. Or more accurately, don’t bother – because its Championship Manager time.

Back in 2001 Newcastle United still had Alan Shearer, Craig Bellamy was a hot prospect and Shola Ameobi was given a pace rating of 17. The world was different, but the same old problems existed for the Magpies. The defence is weak, and they lack strength in depth. The chairman is expecting a battle against relegation (shock).

But there is hope. In midfield, Keiron Dyer is still a bright talent for England, as is Jermain Jenas. Craig Bellamy is an electric striker and Alan Shearer can still bang them in.

More from Newcastle News

• “What a player” Arsenal and Real Madrid stars hype up this Newcastle ace
• “Measly” Paul Merson makes extreme claim about Newcastle vs Brentford
• Newcastle: Eddie Howe may make TWO changes with Champions League rotation in mind
• ‘We have options’ – Eddie Howe reacts to Jamie Redknapp’s comments on Sean Longstaff
• ‘The mentality is there’ – Eddie Howe on how he can turn the season around for Newcastle United

The catch, and the hard part, to all this will be that I’m not allowed to use my knowledge of the future to help me out. There will be no Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cristiano Ronaldo, Freddy Adu or most cruelly, Cherno Samba.

Without further ado, let’s get in to the pre season action for the 2001/2002 season. Oh, and a gigantic thanks to the excellent Set Pieces series that inspired this one.