Eddie Newton Article

[Tea Bar Boy]

Good Read this

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1302895/Eddie-Newton-saw-Chelsea-grow-weeds-winners.html

When Eddie Newton emerges from the Stamford Bridge tunnel on Saturday afternoon he will glance up at the posh seats in the East Stand and reflect how far Chelsea have come in the last 25 years.

‘I have washed down every seat of the top tier of that stand. I joined the club at 13 and we would train in the morning — on gravel in Battersea Park or in the car park behind Stamford Bridge — and do chores in the afternoon.

‘I’ve pulled out the weeds in the away end and painted yellow markers on the old terracing steps. I collected dirty kit and bagged up the clean one. We cleaned boots and dressing rooms — we were fully paid-up skivvies. It’s difficult to recognise the club now from what I wandered into.’

The return of West Bromwich Albion manager Roberto Di Matteo to his former club may attract more attention but, for Chelsea fans with longer memories, Newton’s appearance in the dug-out on Saturday as Di Matteo’s No 2 will stir deeper memories.

Now 38, the Chelsea that Newton signed schoolboy forms with in 1985 played at a decrepit, half-empty ground where some fans responded to the mediocre fare on the pitch by focusing instead on building a fearsome reputation for hooliganism.

But, as his own career progressed, he witnessed the first half of the transformation which has ultimately seen Chelsea become champions three times in the last six years.

‘Everyone thinks that Ruud Gullit was the catalyst for change,’ said Newton. ‘But it was Glenn Hoddle. He turned Chelsea into a forwardthinking, winning football club. He had to educate the players, the coaching staff and everyone else behind the scenes. And the fans.

‘They were used to 4-4-2, highoctane, “get-it-in-the-box-quickly†type of football. He didn’t want that. He played 3-5-2. I don’t think anyone had played that system before. I certainly hadn’t. He asked me to be a “holding midfielder†— I didn’t have a clue what he was banging on about.

King for the day: Eddie Newton celebrates his goal in the 1997 FA Cup final against Middlesbrough. Di Matteo also scored that day

‘We ended up getting booed for the first dozen games. The boys in the Shed weren’t happy. “Get it forward,†they’d yell, “what are you lot doing?â€. I can still hear the jeers ringing in my ears.

‘And Glenn is on the side shouting: “Don’t launch it, don’t you dare launch it.†Then, we got a clap after a bit of possession. We started looking at each other: “Bloody hell, what’s happening here?â€.’

What was happening was that Chelsea Football Club were becoming players — in every sense of the word.

‘People started signing for us. Ruud Gullit walked through the door and my jaw dropped. At AC Milan it is five-star, 24-hour service. At Harlington, we had Heathrow on one side and the M4 on the other.

Taking it forward: Newton says it was Glenn Hoddle who helped revolutionize Chelsea in the 1990s

'Coaches would have to stop what they were saying while Concorde took off. So Ruud needed to adjust — on and off the pitch.

'I remember one day we were playing QPR and Ian Holloway was ratting around the midfield — as he did. All of a sudden, a ball bounced up. Ruud went to chest it and Olly put his foot up, won the ball and almost took Rudi’s head off. My pal shouted at the ref: “Oi, he can’t do that†but play went on.

‘Ruud was stood, frozen in the centre of the pitch. We were screaming at him: “Get back here, this is England, that’s allowed.†But Ruud was not having any of it. I had to have a word with him at half-time.

'I said: “You need to start looking after yourself.†He took it on board. He understood.’

Terry Venables’ split with the FA in 1996 led to Hoddle’s exit to become England manager. It was a seamless transition for Gullit to broaden the European themes that his predecessor had introduced.

‘Rudi was the perfect man to follow Glenn,’ added Newton. ‘He made the dressing room feel good about itself. If we were playing Manchester United, Ruud Gullit didn’t care. And that transmitted itself to us.

‘He wasn’t massive on tactics. He would stand in front of us and say: “My belief is that we are the third best team in the country. The aim is to be the best. I believe, with one or two additions, we will be.â€

‘Everyone just looked at each other. Some people, like Mark Hughes, were used to that mentality. Some of us weren’t. But we took it on board.

‘There were two camps, the domestic guys and the foreigners. Ruud managed to blend them together at a Christmas party. The foreigners wanted to go for a meal, which they were used to. The British lads wanted a jolly-up, go to a club — which they were used to.

Continental flair: It took a while for Ruud Gullit to adapt to life in England

‘So Ruud said: “OK, this is what we will do. All of us will go for a meal. Afterwards, all of us will go to a club. Everyone will have a drink. You are not standing there for 10 minutes and going home. You will stay.â€

'We all had a great time. We had banter about that night for ages.

‘The feeling developed that it was us against the world. We knew everyone was painting us as big-time Charlies, flash this, flash that. The way we played our football. The club moved up a gear.’

A knee injury cut Newton down in his prime, a blow that turned the midfielder away from the game for two years before the club helped resuscitate his love for it by taking him into their Academy. He bumped into Di Matteo again.

‘I never looked at Robbie and thought he was managerial material,’ he said. ‘We had a strong bond on the pitch, myself and Robbie. But we didn’t socialise, not really.

'We met up on coaching courses and he would probe. Ask me deep questions about my philosophy and the rest of it.

‘Then I got a phone call from him. He said: “MK Dons are interested in taking me as a manager and I’ve told them you are my No 2.â€

Decisive management, wasn’t it? I never thought I’d be here. But circumstances change.’

As Newton looks around Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening, he can say that again.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1302895/Eddie-Newton-saw-Chelsea-grow-weeds-winners.html#ixzz0wldn7HGE

[shedhead]

Excellent post. Really good article although I am sure that everyone recognises that the big changes at Chelsea started with Hoddle and not Gullit.

Edited August 16, 2010 by shedhead

[MKBlue]

I met Eddie a couple of years back while delivering the mail to the horrible Dons training ground, when he realised that I was a Blue he asked if I thought he'd get a game nowadays. My reply, which looks a little silly now, was that there was a shirt with Malouda printed on the back that he'd have no problem looking better in, oops.

[mad_mac]

Class, MK!

This is a great read, thanks for sharing. Loved Newton and remember Hoddle building the midfield around him. Sad that his career ended as it did, but also very glad that he's at least back into the industry that he loves