Newcastle fans have never liked people who are Ruud. Now they are confronted by another wanting to spoil their world.
Startling player that he was – and Gullit was one of the world’s best – he managed Newcastle in such a confrontational way that the greatest goalscorer in our history, Alan Shearer, was almost driven out of town.
Come Saturday and another Dutch Ruud – van Nistelroy – is coming up here to our cathedral hell-bent on cashing in on the uncertainty and confusion that has blighted a supposedly inevitable rise from the mediocrity of Mike Ashley. We cannot allow that to happen.
Gullit has an FA Cup final appearance on his Newcastle record but he also has a destructive put down of legends like Shearer and Rob Lee that, but for Bobby Robson’s rescue act, would have sent a great club on an irreversible downward spiral. Now we wish to halt a trend not so dramatic as that at the end of the nineties but still concerning.
Leicester are what they are, of course, and that is not great which is why the previous manager got the sack and van Nistelroy was whistled up. Has that brought about a Ruud awakening for the Foxes? Well they are unbeaten under the new boss with a win and draw dramatically sneaked at the death against Brighton on Sunday after being two down.
No doubt the old Man U gunslinger appreciates an effective striker regardless of him being in his twilight years. Jamie Vardy will be 38 next month but he scored one and made the other to rescue his boss.
Nevertheless Leicester are the best of rivals when United need to return to winning ways. They last tasted victory 3-1 at Nottingham Forest which by the time they play again this weekend will be 34 winless days and four winless matches.
Indeed back to back home games against Leicester and then Brentford in the Carabao Cup are perfect – at least on paper. City are lurking just above the relegation dungeon and Brentford away from their fortress are usually easybeats. Not that it guarantees anything. United can fail when faced with supposedly accommodating opposition. We know that only too well.
It is too easy at the moment to justifiably point an accusing finger at certain players (not all) who turn up for the big games but merely go through the motions of resignation on other occasions. That for me is the biggest condemnation of any footballer.
Ability is God-given and while hard work can make the very best of the fist you have been dealt – players like Kevin Keegan, James Milner and Frank Clark squeezed every drop out of their talent – attitude ought to be a given. The correct mental approach should come with the big wages and not be an option. Not be a tap to turn on and off.
When most of the players Newcastle have turned into stars first arrived they bought in big time to the project placed before them. They got super fit, pressed high and relentless in packs, and ran like the wind for however long it took beyond an hour and a half. Now there is a big difference.
Think of United against the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool. Then think of them when faced by Crystal Palace, Everton, and West Ham. Do you recognise the same people? Call it team spirit. Stick any label on it you like. The thing is it no longer exists in spades, only in spasms.
Having finished fourth and then seventh anything below that would be confirmation that United are going backwards. They currently stand 12th so improvement is required be it through an improved attitude of those already in-house or the transfer market come January. Probably both is needed.
These next two games, both at home, may look easy to some but that is the big danger. United have to be up for them and maybe they will, stung by public mutterings where once there was wall to wall adulation. I hope so because without true grit there will be no sun.
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