Souness named as Robson replacement

The 51-year-old Scot has been given the St James' Park job after his predecessor Bobby Robson was shown the door, following a poor run of results.

Souness, who quit his post at Blackburn to accept United chairman Freddy Shepherd's offer, will take over next Monday, two days after his new club meets his old one in the Premiership at St James' Park.

"Graeme Souness leaves Blackburn Rovers to take up the position of team manager of Newcastle United," a Newcastle statement said.

"Souness, who has been in talks with Blackburn and Newcastle over the weekend, will take up his new post on Monday September 13, after a week's gardening leave, covering Newcastle United's Premier League match against Blackburn at St James' Park next Saturday."

Souness's appointment came as a surprise, after days of speculation which has thrown the names of Terry Venables and Steve Bruce to the top of the pile.

The former Liverpool midfielder had been mentioned as a candidates, but was thought to be well down the shortlist as David O'Leary and Gordon Strachan were touted.

Venables's revelation that he had held talks with the Magpies saw his stock rise once again, but Shepherd made his move for Souness on Sunday.

Blackburn confirmed that they have reached a satisfactory level of compensation with Newcastle after they agreed to an approach from the Tyneside outfit to speak to Souness.

Rovers chief executive John Williams said: "My reading of the situation is quite clear.

"Graeme is very reluctant to leave a job he considers one of the best in the business, but he views Newcastle as a massive opportunity and one he cannot resist.

"We wish him well for the future and thank him for four successful years, but now is the time to look forward and we need to focus all our energies on finding Graeme's successor.

"We have an excellent squad of players and have a lot to offer the new manager, not least, a financially stable club and we expect considerable interest in the position.

"It is time to move on. We know what we are looking for and anticipate a very strong list of applicants."

At the end of last season Souness had vowed to be a calmer influence on his Rovers squad.

The promise came after reports of a training-ground row with striker Dwight Yorke when the Trinidad and Tobago striker tackled his manager.

The 51-year-old then fell out with Yorke over the striker's busy social life and the striker left for Birmingham on the day the transfer window closed.

That move came after assurances that Yorke was part of Blackburn's plans for the season.

Midfielder David Dunn - also now with Birmingham - was another who clashed with Souness when he was at Ewood Park, again over his social life.

But his determination to stay calm during this campaign was apparent when his side conceded a late equaliser to Manchester United last month. The referee played four minutes of injury time and missed Louis Saha's handball which set up Alan Smith's dramatic late strike.

Souness said after the game: "There are a couple of things I would like to go into, but I can't.
"If I do it only works against you, so I will simply say I am delighted with a point given we only had one point before today."

The move is likely to come as a welcome surprise to United fans, who were less than impressed with the news that Venables was a realistic contender.

In addition, his reputation as a disciplinarian will go down well with the Tyneside public after a catalogue of on and off-the-field controversies in recent weeks.

However, the Edinburgh-born boss will know he has a hard act to follow after Robson's five-year reign, which brought more highs than lows, but, crucially, no trophies.

After two seasons of stabilisation in the face of repeated injury crises, Robson steered United into fourth, third and fifth in the Premiership and also got them into the second phase of the Champions League and the UEFA Cup semi-finals.

Souness will inherit a squad which has been strengthened to the tune of more than £70m since 1999, but without a single piece of silverware in 35 years and, in the wake of Jonathan Woodgate's departure for Real Madrid, severely depleted in defence.

His first job will be to steady the ship and then set about the task of recovering from a start to the season, from which they have collected only two points from their four games so far.

However, he will launch his tenure in the UEFA Cup first round when Israeli side BNEI Sakhnin visit St James' on Thursday September 16.