Updating #ManagerWatch: Intriguing candidate has new job

Much like watching the team on the pitch, watching the machinations of the business side of Newcastle United is not a pleasant experience.  However, speculating to what degree we are being deceived can be fun!

We might as well start with the worst of the recent news.  Tomas Tuchel, who had long held position as my personal favorite of the men connected with the quasi-vacant Newcastle post, is off the board.  The coach who could have brought a very real and beneficial change to Newcastle United both on the pitch and behind the scenes is replacing yesterday's flavor-of-the-month avante garde manager Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.  Of course, the corollary to this is that he was never likely on the table in the first place, but we'll pour one out for what might have been anyway.

Don't worry, though because even though we've lost one potential new coach for our club, Klopp himself is on the market so we can look forward to that not even being a thing as replacement.

There has been much buzz around the Newcastle United twitters about one of the more recent candidates possibly having been photographed with Lee Charnley at St. James' Park.  Speculation is that Jocelyn Gourvennec was the man photographed with our beloved Managing Director.  We profiled him here.  He is known as the French Jurgen Klopp so that must be something right?  You can read more about him at the above link.  His appearance and the twitter buzz comes on the heels of Lee Ryder (currently on an upswing with regard to his relationship with club brass) reporting that there are only two realistic candidates for the role: John Carver and Steve McClaren.  It's hard to tell if it's actually raining in this chase for a new coach (or not) or if it is the club peeing on your leg and telling you it's raining... but it's pretty safe to guess one way or the other if you happen to be the betting type.

The Ryder piece does state, however, that we will know something for certain around May 24, the day of Newcastle United's final match of this misbegotten season.  There is no word whether that timing is meant as a "wait and see" to see how badly John Carver can wreck the end of the 2014-15 Premier League campaign, but it is a pretty safe bet.  It's probably safe to say that any of the pie in the sky names still out there are not going to want to manage in the Championship, so they may want to wait until that elusive final victory (or two draws) are earned before committing to anything.