Joe Kinnear loses it with journalists at Newcastle press conference - the full transcript

Click here to listen to part one of Kinnear's F-word rant

Click here to listen to part two of Kinnear's F-word rant

Below is the full transcript of a foul-mouthed rant by Joe Kinnear, the Newcastle United manager, who was hardly enthused by the publicity he got in his first week in the job and decided to let the assembled members of Her Majesty's Press know just what he thought about them.

WARNING: If you are offended by foul language or asterisks (****) annoy you, stop reading right now. For the rest of you, it's time to feast your eyes on some footballing gold dust.

There might have been only one F in Forest (one of Kinnear's former clubs), but it appears there are many more on Tyneside.

Joe Kinnear (JK): Which one is Simon Bird [football writer for the Daily Mirror]?

SB: Me.

JK: You're a c***.

SB: Thank you

JK: Which one is Hickman? [Niall Hickman, football writer for the Daily Express] You are out of order. Absolutely f***ing out of order. If you do it again, I am telling you you can f*** off and go to another ground. I will not come and stand for that f***ing crap. No f***ing way, lies.

F***, you're saying I turned up and they f***ed off.

SB: No Joe, have you read it? It doesn't actually say that. Have you read it?

JK: I've f***ing read it, I've read it.

SB: It doesn't say that. Have you read it?

JK: "You are trying to f***ing undermine my position already.

SB: Have you read it? It doesn't say that. I knew you knew they were having a day off.

JK: F*** off. F*** off. It's your last f***ing chance.

SB: You read the copy? It doesn't say that you didn't know.

JK: What about the headline, you think that's a good headline?

SB: I didn't write the headline, you read the copy.

JK: You are negative b******ds, the pair of you.

SB: So if I get a new job next week would I take the first day off? No I wouldn't. If I get a new job should I call my boss and tell I am taking the first day off?

JK: It is none of your f***ing business. What the f*** are you going to do? You ain't got the balls to be a f***ing manager. F***ing day off.  Do I want your opinion? Do I have to listen to you?

SB: No, you can listen to who you want.

JK: I had a 24-hour meeting with the entire staff.

SB: Joe you are only here six weeks, you could have done that on Sunday, or Saturday night.

JK: No, no, no. I didn't want to do it. I had some other things to do.

SB: What? More important things?

JK: What are you? My personal secretary? F*** off.

SB: You could have done the meeting Saturday night or Sunday. You could have had them watching videos, you could have organised them.

JK: I was meeting the f***ing chairman the owner, everyone else. Talking about things.

SB: It is a valid point that was made in there. A valid point.

JK: I can't trust any of you.

NH: Joe no one could believe that on your first day at your new club, the first team players were not in. No one could believe it in town. Your first day in the office.

JK: My first day was with the coaches. I made the decision that I wanted to get as much information out of them.

NH: But why Monday? No one could believe it.

JK: I'm not going to tell you anything.

I don't understand where you are coming from. You delighted that Newcastle are getting beat and are in the state they are? Delighted are you?

NH: Certainly not. No one wants to see them get beaten, why would we?

JK: I have done it before. It is going to my f***ing lawyers. So are about three others. If they can find something in it that is a court case it is going to court. I am not f***ing about. I don't talk to f***ing anybody. Everything I f***ing say or do. It is raking up stories. You are f***ing so f***ing slimy you are raking up players that I got rid of. Players that I had fallen out with. You are not asking Robbie Earle, because he is sensible. You are not asking Warren Barton? No. Because he is f***ing sensible. Anyone who had played for me for ten years at any level you will find some c*** that .....

Journo: How long is your contract for Joe?

JK: None of your business.

SB: Well it is actually, because we cover the club. The club say you are here to the end of October, then you say 6-8 games which would take it to the end of November. We are trying to clarify these issues. We are getting no straight answers from anyone. How long are you here for? It is a dead simple question. And you don't know....

JK: I was told the length of contract. Then I was told that possibly the club could be sold in that time. That is as far as I know. That's it finished. I don't know anything else. But I have been ridiculed. He's trying to f***ing hide, he's trying to do this or that.

Journalist: What happened at your meeting with Ashley?

JK: At the meeting I was asked how did it go, what reception, this that and the other. I told him not too clever. He wanted to know how the team done. I told him. Better second half than we were first half. I asked him what is the situation. Any news or updates on what is going on. He said I have six to eight consortium lined up and that is all I can tell you. That was it.

Journalist: Have you met Mike before? No? Not even at the Orange Tree pub Totteridge?

JK: You want to get your facts right. Dennis Wise never played under me.

Journalist: None of us have even written that...

JK: Another one you wrote. We met in a pub. We are friends in a pub and that is when it was done, in a pub. Good imagination eh? It is nonsense.

Will I get time and get judged on results?

Steve Brenner [The Sun]: We are all grown men and can come in here and sit around and talk about football, but coming in here and calling people c***s?

JK: Why? Because I am annoyed. I am not accepting that. If it is libellous, it is going to where I want it to go.

Press officer: What has been said in here is off the record and doesn't go outside.

Journo: Well is that what Joe thinks?

JK: Write what you like. Makes no difference to me. Don't affect me I assure you. It'll be the last time I see you anyway. Won't affect me. See how we go at Everton and Chrissy can do it, someone else can do it. Don't trust any of yous.

I will pick two local papers and speak to them and the rest can f*** off. I ain't coming up here to have the p*** taken out of me. I have a million pages of crap that has been written about me.

I’m ridiculed for no reason. I’m defenceless. I can’t get a point in, I can’t say nothing, I can’t do nothing, but I ain’t going to be negative. Then, half of you, most of you are trying to get into the players. I’m not going to tell you what the players think of you, so then you try and get into them in some way or another, so I’ve got a split camp or something like that, something like that. It’s ongoing. It just doesn’t stop.

Journalist: It’s only been a week.

JK: Exactly. It feels more like a year.

Journalist: It’s early days for you to be like this.

JK: No, I’m clearing the air. And this is the last time I’m going to speak to you. You want to know why, I’m telling you. This is the last time. You can do what you like.

Journalist: But this isn’t going to do you or us any good.

JK: I’ll speak to the supporters. I’m going to tell them what the story is. I’m going to tell them. I don’t think they’ll interpret it any different, I don’t think they’ll mix it up, I don’t think they’ll miss out things. I mean, one of them last week said to me … I was talking about in that press conference where you were there, I said something like "well that’s a load of bollocks".

Journalist: "Bollocks to that" is what you said.

JK: Bollocks to that. And what goes after that?

Journalist: That was it.

JK: No, it wasn’t, no it wasn’t. What was after it? I don’t know if it was your paper, but what went after it?

Journalist: I don’t know.

JK: It even had the cheek to say "bollocks to Newcastle".

Journalist: I didn’t write that.

JK: That was my first f***ing day. What does that tell you? What does that tell you?

Journalist: Where was that? Which paper said that?

JK: I’ve got it. I can’t remember. It was one of the Sundays, not a Saturday. It was a Sunday.

Journalist: But you didn’t say that to the Sundays, you said that to us. That was during the Monday press conference.

JK: I’ve got it, I’ve got it. I’ll bring it in and show it to you. Why would I want to say that? And why would you want to put something like that behind it?

Journalist: Are you saying that someone has reported you saying "bollocks to Newcastle"?

JK: Yes. Lovely.

Journalist: I don’t know who’s reported that.

JK: I’ll tell you what, I’ll bring it in.

Journalist: That’s obviously going to damage you. That’s not a good thing. But I don’t think someone’s done that. We have to have some sort of relationship with you.

JK: So have I? But I haven’t come in here for you lot to take the p*** out of me. And if I’m not flavour of the month for you, it don’t f***ing bother me. I’ve got a job to do. And I’m going to do it to the best of my ability and get on with it. I’m not going to spend any more time listening to any crap or reading any crap. Ok? I know you’ve got a job to do. Stick to the truth and the facts. That’s all you’ve got to do. Stick to the truth and, I’m saying, the facts. And don’t twist anything. That’s all I’m asking you. But that’s impossible in journalism. Because I’ve been ….

Journalist: You know, you know the game …

JK: Of course I know, but I don’t have to like it.

Journalist: Today we’ll print the absolute truth, that you think we’re c***s, we can all f*** off and we’re slimy. Is that fair enough?

JK: Do it. Fine. F***ing print it. Am I going to worry about it? Put in also that it’ll be the last time I see you. Put that in as well. Good. Do it.

Journalist: Ferguson said it the other day to the Man U lot. But down in London some of your best friends were journalists.

JK: Like who?

Jounalist: *************. They were big mates of yours weren’t they?

JK: “I don’t know  ******************. I know a *************. But they were honest. They were honest. They didn’t twist anything I had to say. That’s why they were my friends. I’m as straight as they come, but I will stand up and fight for myself in any corner. You’re not going to f*** me off or frighten me in any manner. Whatever you do, or whatever headlines you run, you’re not going to embarrass me. I’m not going to stand for it. I’ve come up here for a simple chance to f***ing prove myself. Just wait, wait and make a decision after whatever period of time you want to. That’s fine. Until then, get off my back and let me get on with my job. That all I ask. Just do that. That’s all I ask of you. F***ing hell. Was it last week, who wrote the headline "it’s gone from bad to worse, it’s Morecambe and Wise". That’s one f***ing headline. I’ve got that as well. I don’t know which one of you has done that. "It’s a circus now," that’s another f***ing headline. "The circus leader’s come to town," another headline. That’s journalists. Are you happy with that?

Journalist: The people who write the headlines are based in London. We don’t write them.

JK: Am I supposed to be delighted with it?

Journalist: Newcastle has been called a circus long before you arrived.

JK: Yeah, I’m the ringmaster of the circus.

Journalist: It’s the situation. It’s not just you. The club’s up for sale. It’s the whole situation of the past three months, all the Keegan stuff, whatever, that you’ve come into. But you’re not the spearhead of everything. It’s not a case of "you’ve come in so now we’re going to slaughter you". That’s not how it works.

JK: For two days I don’t think I saw a decent report. There might be one today. For the first two days, I haven’t seen one. Not one. A pile like that (gestures). Some of you are either feeding some dummy to say even more, to put the boot in even more. So it’s like that.

Journalist: But you’ve hardly come in to a club where it’s stable anyway, there are so many other problems going on, everyone …

JK: But why do you want stories on the negative side?

Journalist: (Unintelligible.)

JK: The only way to get the positives is to get a result.

Journalist: Seriously, with the best will in the world, when you got the job, the club released a statement, and in your first interviews you contradicted that statement by saying you’d got the job for a longer period of time, you admitted you got the job because everybody else had said no …

JK: Well I can’t tell a lie about that, that’s a fact.

Journalist: … you said that Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan were parked around the corner to get the manager’s job after you …

JK: Hold on, hold on. I said that was relayed to me. But you didn’t put that in though. You missed that bit out. You did, I saw it as well. You wrote it – I’m not saying it was you – in such a way that you didn’t put in half the things that I said. You twisted it each time. I’ve been in the game long enough to know that.

Journalist: Can I finish my point?

JK: Yes, well I’m telling you your answer.

Journalist: We have to reflect and report on and try and find out what’s going on at this football club. In your first public statements you contradicted things and said things …

JK: Tell me what I contradicted.

Journalist: The length of the contract, who was coming in next ...

JK: Do you want to see it? So you’re calling me a liar then?

Journalist: No, I’m saying that it was a contradiction of the club’s statement, which we’ve already established.

JK: I didn’t know that. I didn’t know there was a statement, why didn’t you tell me you had a statement?

Journalist: I think we did say that.

JK: I told you exactly what the truth was. What it says on my contract.

Journalist: Yes but it was contradictory to what the club said.

JK: OK, I take your point.

Journalist: You also made several other points that we had to find the truth out of. KK and Alan Shearer. Now if we approach those people and they say "no, we’ve never heard of it," it doesn’t help the feeling around the club.

JK: “Well where have you been then? Where have you been before I come, what were the headlines then? Where were you? Another planet.

Journalist: It was chaotic before you got there.

JK: No. The write up. What was the write up.

Journalist: Sorry, I don’t know what you’re asking me.

JK: The write up was the consortium from Nigeria or wherever it might be, the agent spoke quite clearly that he had spoken to Mr Ashley and we’ve decided on such a such fee and yes, hold on, let me finish, you might have wrote it, it’s true to say that I’m in talks with KK and AS. Right, OK. So that’s written.

Journalist: That doesn’t mean it’s true.

JK: Really? You asked me what the consortium said. And I said exactly what was said in that paper. And I’m saying exactly what was told to me. I’ve got no reason to say it and you tried to change it, whoever it is, one or two of you, that you thought I was hiding behind it. Yes you did, yes you did.

Journalist: There’s a difference between a consortium coming in and saying we want KK and we’ve spoken to KK and you reporting what Mike Ashley is telling you, that KK and AS are parked round the corner.

JK: No. Mike Ashley told me that he had got that from the consortium. So you’re not getting your facts right. So when I said the consortium told MA who told me, that was discreetly missed, it was missed and so you go onto the negative stuff.

Journalist: The point I’m trying to make is that this was your first day in the job and it’s created more chaos and unrest and we’ve reflected that. It’s not about you as a manager. I don’t think any of us have called into question your ability as a manager or what you bring …

JK: What are you talking about? I’ve been crucified. Absolutely crucified in every single newspaper.

Journalists: No, that’s not true.

JK: Absolutely. Morecambe and Wise headlines…

Journalist: You said yourself you got offered the job because everyone else had turned it down.

JK: What’s that got to do with Morecambe and Wise?

Journalist: I don’t know, I didn’t write that headline. You said that fans would be disappointed you got the job.

JK: Yes.

Journalist: Right, OK, we’ve reflected that. No one has criticised your qualities as a manager. We’ve not seen them, we’ve not seen the evidence on the pitch.

JK: What other way did I get the job then?

Journalist: Sorry?

JK: What other way did I get the job then?

Journalist: Because of your track record?

JK: No I got the job because I was honest. Half a dozen managers turned it down. Ask them what reasons they turned it down. Why did they turn it down?

Journalist: I don’t know.

JK: Well there you are then. Do your f***ing homework and ask them.

Journalist: But that’s the reason why it’s farcical. Not just you, it’s the whole situation. Nothing specific about you. The farce is that it’s a club up for sale with no manager, six people are turning down interim jobs, it’s not you. Dennis and Mike can’t even come to the ground, it’s the whole situation, the squad’s threadbare. This all predates your arrival. But your arrival didn’t help the situation in the short-term, that’s what I was trying to say. It’s not 100 per cent personal with you, no way. Even Chris (Hughton) a few days before had admitted he’d had no contact with the people upstairs. It’s the whole lot that’s a farce, that’s the thing. If you look at the papers before your arrival, they’re exactly the same, that this club had become a laughing stock. The fans are saying it, go on the message boards. They’re saying even worse than us. We’re just reflecting the whole situation, it’s not just Joe Kinnear. Then you’re banned for the first two matches. Not your fault, but it doesn’t help the mood around the club. Is your decision not to speak to us final?

JK: I think so, yeah. I don’t see any future in it, anyway. Whatever happens, the only way I’m going to win anything is by getting results. And it’s still going to be negative, negative, negative. I’m reading one negative story after another after another. Half of the stuff is crap, I don’t know where you’re getting your information from or who’s feeding you the stuff. Anything I tell you, you can write. You can write what I’ve said today. Go on, bang away. I’ve said it and done it. I don’t have to hide anything.

Journalist: I don’t think it’s in your interests and it’s certainly not in our interests – I’m being selfish – not to speak to us. I don’t think that’s a good decision. Obviously you’re very angry and perhaps with some justification in certain circumstances, but I don’t know if that’s a good decision on your behalf in the long run.

JK: Well that’s your point of view.

Press officer: Let’s get on to football. Let’s have an agreement that everything said so far, if anyone has got their tapes on, it’s wiped off and we’re not discussing it.

Journalist: But that’s what Joe has said he thinks of us.

Press officer: I’m saying don’t push it. Let’s accept what’s been said on both sides and try and move on.

Journalist: Move on to not doing any more press conferences?

Press officer: No, to doing something now.

Journalist: What, one press conference only?

(Silence)

Journalist: Any knocks?

Press officer: Come on, let’s go football.

Journalist: What are your plans for training in the next three days? How's the training going?

JK: It's going very well. No problems at all.

Journalist: Enjoyed getting back in the swing of things?

JK: Absolutely. I've loved every moment of it.

Comments

[GD]

Well, what a surprise - one of Ron Atkinson's ilk has gone and illustrated only too well why they don't have work anymore. Kinnear has always been a mediocre manager with no charm and no talent. What riles me though is that if anybody doing a "normal" job for "normal" money was to have an outburst like that, we woud be fired staright away, no messing - and rightly so. I'm sure it can't be too nice having papers write nonsense about you, but his response is the response of a teenager - and an inarticulate and confused one at that. If the press is totally untrue , unleash the lawyers or refuse to speak to the press. Otherwise get a grip. Sack him and get a proper manager who commands respect.

[Kev the Keeg]

he's a ****

[David]

The League Managers Association chief exec Richard Bevan should make an example of this neandertahal......so much for the RESPECT campaign in football.

I have a theory: football lives in a bubble and all bubbles burst. Over the next 4 years as we fall into a recession of biblical proportions, footballers and their ilk will continue their detached existance oblivious to the economic horrors that will affect those that fund their astonishing lifestyles.

And what will make the public realise that these fake gods are not worth idolising anymore?

A faceless athlete on £19,000 a year, father of four, who represents his country at the London Olympics who respects his fellow men, works hard, makes sacrifices, achieves his goals, is dedicated, patriotic, unselfish, personable, brave, honest and determined.

Now that is someone who understands RESPECT.

[Colin Burn]

Just one more in support of JK; wish he could express himself better, though it probably wouldn't be as effective. What a pity more in his position don't have the strength to dish it out to a load of self-serving ignorami.

[peter koeb]

What an embarrassing liability Joe Kinnear is. He goes and uses a moderately strong expletive on the live Football Focus programme, which is screened at lunchtime, and follows up with another expletive on his MOTD interview. He would appear to be losing the plot. Big time.

If this was how Joe Kinnear was hoping to put himself back in the "shop window", i would suggest that he's not doing a very successful job. Or perhaps he's targeting some alternative form of employment.

[Andy]

Just a couple of points:

To those slating the journalists for their supposededly gutless refusal to accept responsibility for the headlines used, you do realise that they really don't write them don't you? Regionally-based sports reporters submit copy to their papers, sub-editors at the paper usually write the headlines. That's not a gutless refusal to accept responsibility, it's a factual statement of employment practices.

Turning to the crux of Kinnear's argument (such as it was) the idea that it would take a supposedly concerted effort by a pack of hunter/killer sports journos to make him look stupid is actually quite flattering.

Kinnear is a throwback, a man who's been out of the game for four years and who was distinguished mainly by his lack of competence for years before that. His stated aim when accepting the job was to do the best he could and hopefully raise his profile sufficiently that he would be able to secure another management role when his tenure at NUFC ended.

I suppose a strict analysis should show him doing well so far; after all, it's early days to judge the first one and he's certainly making good inroads into the second. Unfortunately, I'm not sure that his profile is being raised in a useful way by this kind of directionless outburst.

Kinnear lays his lack of intelligence out for all to see with his comments, in fact he positively flaunts it.

He clearly has no idea which journalist wrote the comments he takes umbrage at, or even if they're present at the press conference.

He misinterprets other quotes, to the point where it becomes obvious he had a preconcieved expectation of what the papers would say and has skimmed the back pages looking for corroborating evidence, rather than reading the stories as printed and accepting that anything outside the words on the page is his own opinion

(Note: I'm being generous with this interpretation; the alternative would be that he did read the articles in full but was incapable of understanding even the rudimentary prose of the tabloids, which is pitched squarely at the "five GCSEs at grades A-E" demographic.)

Most worryingly for any chairman considering extending Joe's return to gainful employment, he seems to have forgotten how to think. Seriously, the man could not carry a coherent thought in a bucket. He changes topic mid-point without appearing to recognise that he's done it, repeatedly misquotes articles and misattributes quotes without acknowledging this or apologising for it (despite that being exactly what he's pillioring the journalists for) and generally comes across as a ranting buffoon.

Then there's the language. I've heard or read three interviews with him since he took over at Newcastle and he swore in each of them. Seriously, what is wrong with the man? I don't care how he speaks when he's with the players, when the manager of a supposedly major Premier League club is representing that club in an iterview or press conference, he shouldn't be using language suited to a drunken navvy. It's not situationally appropriate and far from being an example of him hitting back at his supposed detractors, he's actually doing their work for them.

He's a joke of a manager and NUFC are a joke of a club - it looks like a match made in Heaven to me.

[Hugo Chav]

Joe was absolutely one hundred percent correct. Spot on brilliant,

[alan daly]

Please can some one please explain to me, how the pathetic rantings of a very sllly foul mouthed bully are taking up so much print space. The man is a nonsense and his employers are the ones to censure him. Goodness me did this man raise children, i hope not. It would be hoped that he has no dealings with young players as he is quite clearlY unemployable and should be shunnted back to his sofa, so he can rant at the TV.

[richard dow]

Well said, Congratulations ????????

The man is obviously out if his depth here, not in a managerial sense but in the politics of the current situation.

Guys were responding to his allegations and he was floundering, needs to calm down and get on wi the job.

If he makes a fist of this over the next month or so it could be arise Sir Joe

[Andre]

He should be fired without further delay. This is a disgrace to the club and the profession of football. There should be no room for behaviour like this in professional sports - especially at the management level!

[robert]

he sounds like his is in a bit over his head, like quite a bit. maybe he should be the janitor.

[Dominic]

Foul-mouthed and disgusting. And no excuse, because he must have known what pressure he would be under due to the spotlight currently on the club. I would encourage journos not to bother turning up to press conferences with him, he'll soon moan out of the other side of his mouth.

As for being 'surprised' that people are amazed at his failure to deal with players on the first day of his job, he must be living on a private planet where work doesn't involve working with your workforce.

[peter koeb]

What a ****ing liability this guy has rapidly become. It started very badly, with him using a mildish expletive on the live Football Focus programme, and following up with a "peed off" on his MOTD interview.

If Joe Kinnear thought he might get some kind of interesting job opportunity, after putting himself in the shop window, he's already gone and shot himself in both feet.

[James]

Journalists don't write headlines, sub-editors do. I think credit to the journalists - they didn't call JK a "c***" or a "f***", but when JK unleashes on them, they can at least handle it like real men and respond in a calm, sensible fashion.

JK is a desperate man, nobody else with any sense would take on the Newcastle job, and without even being in charge for one game he has already lost his cool.

[Leicester City ex-pat]

Look at the photo of JK used here!!!! Was that ACTUALLY taken at this press conference?? If not then its just more of the dishonest media hatchet job JK was wittily and sententiously venting about. Over here in the States I heard about the "Irish mafia" headlines and other negative media sneers about JK's appointment. And I have no love for NUFC whatever.

It is quite telling that the hacks that JK went for by name were from the tabloids. I only read the Telegraph and occasionally The Times online and rarely if ever see tabloid like trash in these papers.

Ultimately this is ALL about trust, integrity and honesty and overwhelmingly the media these days deservedly enjoys the widely held perception that "they" - collectively at least - have little if any of these core values left. JK has taken an even bigger 'poisonous chalice' than the Leicester job increasingly became after MON (until the so far so good arrival of Nigel Pearson) - admittedly only on a few weeks interim basis.

Far too many cynical footy hacks, especially in the tabloids are only concerned with their egos, next days headlines, and in some instances perpetuating an image - whether deserved of not - of a player/manager/club and so they care little for the cold hard facts or else they twist things or omit things to get the job done. They can quite easily do tremendous harm to a club/manager/player's image or reputation. Thus what gets written, if not wholly accurate, gets assimilated and repeatedly disseminated by other media hacks and millions of fans too - who will often seize on anything to use against a (maybe hated) club/manager/player, regardless of the truth. So the media have the almost instant power to maybe undermine, or worse, a club's position, a manager's/player's chance of a fair shake or a club's image/reputation.

Leicester are CONTINUOUSLY sneered at for "cheating" for going into administration. Yet the actual **facts** are that it was a certain D. Wise and E "Monster" Hall who with their selfish legal action triggered administration. But this always gets lost in the ignorant, uninformed sneers.

JK was simply handing some of it back, maybe not (always) to the actual (sub editor) hack who stitched him up. But then if the "guilty" hacks are not there in front of him surely the assembled footy hacks are smart enough and adult enough to be able to accept some one fighting back in the ONLY way they can. Footy hacks and the wider media cheerily hand it out whenever they choose to - ask Graham Taylor about his "turnip head" England days - and yet get all uppity when faced with the inevitable "up yours" response!!

Nice one Joe!!

[Neil M]

Is there anyone who could even defend him here? Apparently so reading the majority of comments here. If calling people ***** is standing up to someone you don't like then really I'm gobsmacked.

Joe Kinnear comes across to me as loser who doesn't like criticism. Well he took the job and he took the money and he decided to give the players a day off on his first day and didn't even meet with them. The journalists had every right to write that it was a strange decision - because it was.

All his threats of legal action because the truth hurts. He needs to grow up and put all the Toon money into a big swear jar and give it to charity.

He has now opened himself up to widespread attack and should his team do badly then he better not read any newspapers as they will have it in for him.

[Steven]

If they decide to give three points for pre-match press conferences Newcastle will end up in Europe under Joe !!

[bondy]

put your boots on joe kick their butts!

[simon]

Well done that man.

[Nick]

Well said JK

[James]

Good man JK.
The journo's read as if they are grovelling a wee bit there.
Perhaps JK could choose what he tells them a bit better. All the KK and AS stuff should just be side stepped.
Refreshing none the less.

[Frank Upton]

What's so terrible about being called a clot?

[john harvey]

Alan Sugar uses exactly the same sort of language and he is feted as an astute businessman and someone who speaks his mind; Jo Kinnear has given the press some of their owm medicine and they don't like it. We need more Jo Kinnear's aroud; after Newcastle perhaps at Tottenham?

[Bill]

Absolutely fantastic. I'm sure the press will take the moral high ground but amongst ordinary football fans nationwide I think Joe's done himself a real favour. It's all paranoid rubbish he's coming out with obviously - as one journlist put it: 'It's a game'. But it's a game most of us are sick of.

[paul]

well done joe. this is what journos do, feed on misery, attempt humiliation at every turn.
you can only imagine the frustration you would feel if everything you did or said was twisted and lied about then printed in the national media. we all know this happens and someone somewhere was bound to lose it. some may say he should deal with it, should know after years in the game, but let`s focus on the idiots who write this stuff for a change. i`ve some experience of the some of the victims of press games. they set up elaborate stings to catch people out and the public will believe a lot of what they read. they have their vehicle, the people on the recieving end don`t.
the power without responsibility point is spot on. not that anything is about to change. more the pity.