Post by QPR Report on Feb 9, 2010 9:01:23 GMT
Wayne Routledge is given a stage to shine on
Feb 9 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
WAYNE Routledge will never have a better stage to show off his talent as Chris Hughton declared his new signing is at the perfect point in his career to become a star at Newcastle United.
Routledge’s journey has been one of what might have beens and unfulfilled potential, with eight clubs in five years telling the story of a young man who has never managed to settle before his January move from QPR.
However, Routledge’s performance in the destruction of Cardiff City was one of the highlights of a memorable evening and the 25-year-old has added some much needed pace and creativity to a previously pedestrian midfield.
And Hughton, who worked with the winger at Tottenham Hotspur, is confident he has seen a different person at Newcastle to the one which he previously knew, as he urged Routledge to finally realise the potential which saw him tipped to become an England international during his formative years at Crystal Palace.
“I think he is at the right age now,” said Hughton, who acknowledged Routledge has so far failed to scale the heights he was expected to as a teenager.
“We hope he will be here for a good while. We have brought him in here at a very good time for him in his life. He has had good experiences and if he has had bad ones, he will have learnt from them too.
“He has been to some big clubs and performed at some big clubs and I just hope we have got him at a very good time.”
Hughton added: “He is a player who has developed with age.
“He has had some challenges, a couple of loan moves that perhaps did not go so well, he did not get the football he wanted.
“But he is a good age now and a player of experience and I see a better all-round player now.”
One of the problems with Newcastle this season has been the lack of balance to the side with the majority of their attacking play coming down the left flank, where Jonas Gutierrez and Jose Enrique have excelled.
But Routledge’s arrival on the opposite flank makes the Magpies far less predictable, and enables them to stretch congested Championship midfields and packed defences.
Hughton deserves credit for spotting that deficiency in his squad and while he knows Newcastle will not always be able to attack with the same ferocity as they did against Cardiff, he hopes they will be more of a handful in open play with Routledge on board.
He said: “He’s a versatile player. Although predominantly a right sided player and at times an old-fashioned right winger, he can play infield, he can play on the left, he can play off the front so I think he will give us a variety in his game.
“But, generally, he is an all-round player now whereas perhaps, when he was young, he was seen as an out and out right winger.
“I think he is a player who can come inside, as we saw with the goals he provided the other night.
“He is able to drift into other areas and affect the game from there as well.
“With Wayne, he is a lad that has played a lot of football already this season and he put in a lot of good performances at QPR, so he is one we didn’t expect to take too long to settle.”
United’s win over Cardiff stretched their unbeaten run to 15 games and broke a club record which had stood for 60 years, although Hughton was unimpressed by historical statistics ahead of tonight’s trip to Derby County.
He added: “At this moment records do not mean anything to me. The only thing that means anything is maintaining where we are, and we all know what our goal is this season. The most important thing is achieving that.
“Perhaps you look back and review the season and enjoy those moments then, but at this moment there is a lot of pressure on us.
“There are a group of teams below us that are pushing very hard and will continue to push hard.
“We have to make sure we continue to be focused.”
www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2010/02/09/wayne-routledge-is-given-a-stage-to-shine-on-61634-25791407/2/
Feb 9 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
WAYNE Routledge will never have a better stage to show off his talent as Chris Hughton declared his new signing is at the perfect point in his career to become a star at Newcastle United.
Routledge’s journey has been one of what might have beens and unfulfilled potential, with eight clubs in five years telling the story of a young man who has never managed to settle before his January move from QPR.
However, Routledge’s performance in the destruction of Cardiff City was one of the highlights of a memorable evening and the 25-year-old has added some much needed pace and creativity to a previously pedestrian midfield.
And Hughton, who worked with the winger at Tottenham Hotspur, is confident he has seen a different person at Newcastle to the one which he previously knew, as he urged Routledge to finally realise the potential which saw him tipped to become an England international during his formative years at Crystal Palace.
“I think he is at the right age now,” said Hughton, who acknowledged Routledge has so far failed to scale the heights he was expected to as a teenager.
“We hope he will be here for a good while. We have brought him in here at a very good time for him in his life. He has had good experiences and if he has had bad ones, he will have learnt from them too.
“He has been to some big clubs and performed at some big clubs and I just hope we have got him at a very good time.”
Hughton added: “He is a player who has developed with age.
“He has had some challenges, a couple of loan moves that perhaps did not go so well, he did not get the football he wanted.
“But he is a good age now and a player of experience and I see a better all-round player now.”
One of the problems with Newcastle this season has been the lack of balance to the side with the majority of their attacking play coming down the left flank, where Jonas Gutierrez and Jose Enrique have excelled.
But Routledge’s arrival on the opposite flank makes the Magpies far less predictable, and enables them to stretch congested Championship midfields and packed defences.
Hughton deserves credit for spotting that deficiency in his squad and while he knows Newcastle will not always be able to attack with the same ferocity as they did against Cardiff, he hopes they will be more of a handful in open play with Routledge on board.
He said: “He’s a versatile player. Although predominantly a right sided player and at times an old-fashioned right winger, he can play infield, he can play on the left, he can play off the front so I think he will give us a variety in his game.
“But, generally, he is an all-round player now whereas perhaps, when he was young, he was seen as an out and out right winger.
“I think he is a player who can come inside, as we saw with the goals he provided the other night.
“He is able to drift into other areas and affect the game from there as well.
“With Wayne, he is a lad that has played a lot of football already this season and he put in a lot of good performances at QPR, so he is one we didn’t expect to take too long to settle.”
United’s win over Cardiff stretched their unbeaten run to 15 games and broke a club record which had stood for 60 years, although Hughton was unimpressed by historical statistics ahead of tonight’s trip to Derby County.
He added: “At this moment records do not mean anything to me. The only thing that means anything is maintaining where we are, and we all know what our goal is this season. The most important thing is achieving that.
“Perhaps you look back and review the season and enjoy those moments then, but at this moment there is a lot of pressure on us.
“There are a group of teams below us that are pushing very hard and will continue to push hard.
“We have to make sure we continue to be focused.”
www.journallive.co.uk/nufc/newcastle-united-news/2010/02/09/wayne-routledge-is-given-a-stage-to-shine-on-61634-25791407/2/