Rob Stewart’s report on Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Everton makes two references to Sir Bobby being sacked, which even given the poor start to the season is a bit far fetched.
The piece begins with the sentence: “The deafening noise from the football grapevine leaves little doubt that Sir Bobby Robson's position is in grave danger due to Newcastle's troubled start to the season.”
And later on he again refers to Sir Bobby’s future, adding: “According to some observers, defeat this weekend will signal the end of Robson's reign, with Steve Bruce, Birmingham's Geordie manager, said to be earmarked as his successor.
“Indeed, a draw may be insufficient for Robson, who is unwilling to give up without a fight.”
Any talk of Sir Bobby being sacked after a handful of poor results is ludicrous, after all would we have finished third last season if the board had decided to axe the manager after an indifferent start to the Premiership campaign?
And surely it’ll take more than a few poor performances to damage Sir Bobby’s working relationship with Freddy Shepherd.
The chairman has been noticeable for his lack of public proclamations recently, but following the recent death of his mother he understandably has other matters on his mind.
Surely a publication that markets itself as ‘Britain’s best-selling quality daily’ can come up with something better to discuss (preferably something with a basis in fact), let’s face it after the weekend’s mass cheating in the Premiership there are plenty of obvious targets.