Good old Lauren Robert Some lovely comments to make just before two huge games for the club Outspoken winger Laurent Robert does not believe Newcastle United have progressed under manager Graeme Souness this season. Souness joined The Magpies earlier in the year after Sir Bobby Robson was axed for a below-par start to the new campaign. Not only does Robert not think Newcastle are playing any better, but he actually feels standards have fallen since last summer. The side's 1-0 loss to Tottenham at the weekend left them 12th in The Premiership and Robert wants the side to break out of their slump. "Are we better this year than last year? No, I don't think so," he said. "Are we the same? No, probably worse. "I don't think we are playing as well this season - in fact, we've been very very bad and we aren't playing good football. "It is difficult to explain why we are playing so badly, but we have to get out of it quickly." Meanwhile, Robert is unhappy at consistently being substituted in games and feels Souness should communicate his feelings more. The former PSG star is in the dark when he is playing well or badly and wants more feedback from the club's playing staff to help his game. "It's been difficult for me at the moment," he added. "I haven't been happy when I've been brought off. "I think everyone has seen that but I don't like it - and I don't like it when the team play bad football. "He doesn't tell me when I'm playing well and he doesn't tell me when I'm playing badly. "The team haven't been playing well and I haven't been playing well. But it's not just down to me." Despite his long-running battle with Souness, Robert is keen to stay at Newcastle and extend his contract which expires in the summer of 2006. "I would prefer to stay because I like the club very much. I still hope to stay at Newcastle. "Last month there were discussions but nothing has happened since. I don't know why. "I think it'll have to wait until the end of the season."
Re: Good old Lauren Robert The players at Newcastle United take the piss dont they. Problem after problem, i thought Mr Souness was going to sort these trouble makers out, he seems to making things worse. Nevermind, keep it up lads!
The man employed to bring discipline to the club had this to say: A furious Graeme Souness today blasted Laurent Robert for his "selfish attitude" as Newcastle United enter one of their most crucial spells for years. The United boss was seething after the controversial Frenchman's latest outburst against him and the club on the eve of tonight's UEFA Cup quarter final second leg with Sporting Lisbon. Robert's comments about the team and his own situation echo sentiments he has expressed before in his time at St James's Park under both Sir Bobby Robson and now Souness. But the timing of his latest attack left Souness reeling as he prepared to lead United into battle in the Jose Alvalade Stadium. Souness had already decided to leave Robert out of his starting line-up after his latest laid-back performance in Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Spurs at White Hart Lane. And the manager fumed today: "Once again we have had to take our eyes off the ball because of the selfish attitude of one of our own players. "We have been side-tracked by a selfish, self-opinionated player at a time when this football club is playing its two most important games for 35 years. "And it is totally unacceptable, not only for the management team of Newcastle United and the players but also its supporters. "These two games against Sporting Lisbon and Manchester United are not all about Laurent Robert. They are not about Graeme Souness or Alan Shearer either. They are about the cause. And that cause is Newcastle United. That's all that matters to me and it should be all that matters to everyone else." After his purple patch in the eight-match winning run which, ironically, started when Souness threw on Robert and Patrick Kluivert as substitutes against Heerenveen, the French winger has turned in some of his devil-may-care displays. And at White Hart Lane on Sunday, Souness was right to substitute him - and indeed England midfielder Nicky Butt - because of the way they were playing. Souness added: "When Laurent Robert plays like that, he always seeks to blame someone else. I mean - was it my fault he played so poorly at Spurs? "What Laurent Robert has to do is to look at himself first, and if he's not playing well, then he should try harder." Souness also took out his displeasure on the media, asking them why should such a controversial interview - given by Robert at Tuesday's Press day for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Manchester United - be published on the day of such an important match. As a result, at last night's obligatory training stint at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, Souness banned any individual player interviews, ordered the cameras away from their usual spots on the touchline and took his players away to the furthest point in the stadium. In the interview which caused the storm, Robert said he believes his club has gone backwards since last season's UEFA Cup semi-final. "Are we better this year than last year? No, I don't think so," he said. "Are we the same? No, probably worse. "I don't think we are playing as well this season as last. We have not played well in the last three games. We have been very, very bad. We were awful against Aston Villa and we lost at Tottenham and we were not playing good football. "It is difficult to explain why we are playing so badly, but we have to get out of it quickly. Sporting are not as good as Marseille, they do not play such good football, but like last year, we are getting injuries and suspensions at the wrong time." The Frenchman's hopes of winning a new contract at the end of next season are looking more remote by the week. "It is difficult for me at the moment," he admitted. "In the last three games I have been taken off after 55 or 60 minutes and I don't like that, and I don't like it when the team plays bad football. "I have not been happy when I have been brought off, I think everyone has seen that. It is very depressing. "There is no communication and the manager does not speak to me face-to-face to tell me why he keeps taking me off. "He does not tell me when I am playing well and he does not tell me when I am playing badly - and neither does his staff. "I read that he does not feel that I do enough, but I feel like I have proved myself to him last month. You will have to ask him what he means by that." Robert hopes to play his part in what could yet prove a successful season, although he faces a fresh battle to persuade Souness to rely upon him once again. "There is some pressure on me, but that is OK," he said. "I think I have shown over the last four years how I play football. I don't feel I have to prove myself in the next two games. It is about what I do over the whole season, not two games. "May 21, the date of the final, is my birthday, so it would be great to get there and win a trophy for my birthday present. "It has been a difficult season, but it can end with a trophy and everyone will be happy."
