Front page of the Ron carrys the story of Jamie McClen's arrest. He was lifted for being pissed and disorderly on the Swing Bridge in the wee small hours. McClen and his brother - who was also taken to Market Street - had been lashin it doon on the Quayside.


-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Answers

Fucking great.....it's quite obvious that Bellamy getting into trouble hasn't been taken seriously enough.

The press will have another field day over this....

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Sporting Life

Jamie McClen has become the latest Newcastle player to be caught up in trouble after being cautioned for being drunk and disorderly on the city's Quayside.

McClen was stopped by police in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The 22-year-old, who has played in the last four games for the club, was crossing the Swing Bridge over the River Tyne with his brother Steven when they were arrested.

Steven McClen was charged with being drunk and disorderly, a Northumbria Police spokesman said.

He is due to appear before Newcastle magistrates on February 21.

The news comes just days after the club's Welsh striker Craig Bellamy was cautioned for common assault following an incident with a female student during a night out, also in the city's Quayside.

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

I used to sit next to a family friend of the McClen's. He said that the other brother was a better player at 15/16 but was just a waster, and that the club had recognised this even at that age. Might as well bring your brother down as well

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Can you believe this shit!!!! How stupid must these ignorant thick uneducated morons be?

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

If we fine McClen, as we did Bellamy (allegedly), this sort of thing might become quite a lucrative source of income for the club ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Whoops, on another thread I said the world was looking rosier...We'll its the glow from my embrassed cheeks. I dont know..I think this is all a ploy to get the quayside and tyneside in general on the map as the party capital!!

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Not a bad idea there, Pete. Might be a cunning plan to recoup the Jenas money. ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

I wonder if Jenas will now start ahead of McClen on Sunday?

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

What exactly constitutes 'drunk and disorderly' ?

It would be interesting to find out how many other guys heading home in the early hours, staggering and maybe falling down a couple of times, or even getting caught short, were done by Northumbria cops for D&D on Tuesday.

And a pound to a pinch of sh1t, their stories won't see the light of day.

I'll bet there's not one of us hasn't on occasion committed whatever misbehaviour defines drunk and disorderly.

It just goes to show what a sad bunch of ba5tard5 scum hacks are, that they think we're even remotely interested in wanting to be well informed, or even informed at all, about such garbage.

It doesn't sound as though anybody suffered anything other than maybe some minor annoyance, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were booked only because they made their gobs go. Cops looking to get their numbers up, makems even, bang to rights, luvly jubly.

Or even nothing more serious than 'the official form's been filled in, so sorry lads, it's too late to just give you a bollicking and send you on your way'.

The effin rags have now got gangs of literary whores on every rooftop in the town with high power night scopes, and sophisticated radios monitoring police frequencies. Any hint of anything 'newsworthy' and they'll be there, just in case it's another United player.

Seems to me we get the kind of 'news' reporting we deserve.

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

These two incidents are disappointing and difficult to understand. I can appreciate how someone wants to have a few drinks - even get hammered. But the 'disorderly' bit is what's causing the trouble and is inexcusable. Can't they control themselves after they've had a few? Perhaps it's the downside of them not drinking regularly - ie when they do, they invariable make complete arses of themselves.

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

I spent the nights in washington cells last time I was home for being drunk and disorderly....I did a moony at a passing police car and got attacked by a copper.....when I started loudly pointing out that he was a racist facist bastard and that he was only doing it cos I was black he decided that i'd be better off sleeping in the cells for the night....

Tossers made me have DNA tests and everything before they released me without charge the next morning....

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Yes, but you're from Washington Gav, so it's understandable ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

But of course Santa McClen isn't the least big gobby...

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

LOL Gav, I can just picture that!

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Just a quiet night then, Gav? LOL!

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

The irony of it was that we were on our way home from the indian and were only about 50 metres away from my cousins house....the roundabout down by the Celtic for Pit Bill :))

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

Wi yuh ivery step o' the way, Gav. :-{E}

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

"I wonder if Jenas will now start ahead of McClen on Sunday?"

Depends which one of them gets to the bar first, surely?

;7)

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

I note that the Ronnie had it covered by their Crime Reporter FFS.

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

To be honest I don't buy the Chronicle, but in some ways I wish I did so I could deny them a sale.

-- Anonymous, February 12, 2002

You should've not stayed so long on the sunbed, Gav. Respec' ...booyaka...big up to the Washington massive...North-East-side etc

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

are we missing something here?

if you were a professional athlete competeing in a physical sport, in the most competitive league in the world, at the begining of a 3 month stretch with up to 16 big games with the potential reward of establishing yourself in the team and maybe winning a championship -

would you go out and get pissed, stay out until 2am knowing you had to go to training in 30 hours?

i don't care what kind of fool he made of himself (that's his business) i think he should be sacked for his unprofessionalism.

but like they say , that's football

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

GB, so that'd also apply to bernard, distin, bellamy and cort?

I've got to admit that I take your point...if it were me then that'd be the last thing I was doing, I also agree that it needs to be stopped but I don't think sacking them at this point would help us at all....maybe at the end of the season eh ;)

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

The other take maybe that JM has just broken into the first team, the club buy another player who WILL be ahead of him in the pecking order so he's pissed off, so gets pissed up

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

Jamie wasn't charged was he? If I was out with my brother and he was pissed, acting himself on the swing bridge, I would bail out and leave him because of my job. Blood is thicker than water!

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

Or even "wouldn't bail out"

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

i think there's a difference between a beer on your day off and getting hammered to the point that you get arrested (i know i've been there).

you'd hate to think that your teams inconsistencies were partly due to the lifestyle of certain players but you know generally that is the case.

i'd be really pissed off if i thought it was going to cost us points in the run - in.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

Personally I think Market street is one of the nicer facilities to get locked up in, much better and safer than the ones in Heaton and Byker.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

I agree gb, fair enough them drinking after the season's finished - especially if we win something. Even the odd glass of wine or a couple of beers now and then, but getting hammered is just plain stupid.

However, sacking is a bit over the top as they are skilled workers. In an office, if you sack the cleaner for getting p*ssed you can easily replace her/him, but sacking Craig Bellamy would cause us a major problem in finding a replacement. If the 5 week fine story is true, then hopefully it will make Bellamy be careful next time. At the very least I think he's learnt a lesson.

-- Anonymous, February 13, 2002

I thought the PFA had a 2 weeks maximum penalty for its members?

McClen was nicked for being pissed, the others were only mentioned as being out and about, except Bellamy and there is nothing I have seen to suggest he was Mika'd.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

Gusto,I think the 2 weeks is a guideline. If the player agrees to take a heavier fine, then that's er, fine. In the case of Bowyer and Woodgate, Woody accepted up front and paid (4 weeks wages??). Bowyer initally objected but the saw sense and paid up.

I believe the PFA are also looking at this. In this day and age of excessive ages, 2 weeks pay is not a huge deal. £100K sounds a lot to me (and I guess most of you as well). But in reality, it probably doesn't make a huge difference to their weekly spending requirements.

I suspect their overdraft facility would allow for a few beers in the local offy.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

If the fine doesn't hurt, it won't be much of a deterrent. If it takes 5 weeks worth of wages to be felt, then so be it.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

What about hanging? Or in your case Ciara, the chair? Well, not exactly your case, but you know what I mean.

I agree about having to hurt. I dunno what happens to the money raised. I'd be happy for it to be split between the PFA funds that they seemed so short of when threatening to strike and a local charity - with the majority going to the latter.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

Or in your case Ciara, the chair? Well, not exactly your case, but you know what I mean.

Errr...no. Had a liquid lunch today, Screach? ;-)

Like your suggestion of putting the money into the PFA fund, though. Then again with the money the club could make off fines this season it would go along way to financing a new training ground. :-)

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

None of it should go to the PFA. It is a fine by the club, not the PFA. If they want some they should fine him as well.

The club should decide where the money goes, when I were a lad, which was just after jonno was and way, way after Screacher was all the apprentices were given regular instruction on how to behave.

Part of the education was on how to handle money and fame. This has obviously gone the way of pints for a quid, but it should be on the curriculum at all the acadamies. This includes the right of the club to take whatever action necessary if a player breaks this code.

Even pub teams have a nee bords nee broon code for big matches. The professional clubs should have restrictions on players, unfortunately they have proven time and time again that they cannot be trusted. Re the comments that the club cannot tell Shearer what to do, there is no need there are enough level heads around at every club and players like him do not do stupid things like that.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

I have to say I feel bad for the lad - he got pissed on a Tuesday night. Didn't slap anyone, just got pissed, nowhere near a game. Maybe some details will come out that we haven't already heard, but they're footballers not robots. He shouldn't be punished for what other people have done - he certainly shouldn't be hammered just because Bellamy & co blotted their copybooks.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

But why did he get arrested though? What made the police stop and pick him up?? If the police were in the habit of pulling over people suspected of drinking they'd have 200-300,000 people in the cells over the weekend.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

It's the price of fame.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

I met a young 'lady' in Paris once and she also wanted, "...5 weeks worth of wages to be felt".

;7)

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

I think I know who you're talking about Bud. I told her to get some other Bud's money.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

Syme, you're absolutely right, he might have done something stupid (though given that the charge is only for D&D it can't have been that bad) but per Pit Bill's posting above, you never know. Might have been something completely innocent. Might have been his brother playing up & he got sucked in too. Hard to say really, but if footballers can't have a drink on a Tuesday night when they're not playing until Sunday then when can they? When they're 35? Seems harsh - arguably a small price to pay for the rewards, but as I said they're only human. I imagine they're not even under curfew on a Tuesday night when there's no midweek game.

-- Anonymous, February 14, 2002

ADK there is a difference in you and I going out and getting pissed. During a season a PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER should not be getting pissed during the week.

There are no restrictions on drinking, just over indulging.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002

"At the very least I think he's learnt a lesson".

May be deja vu all over again (!), but I seem to recall someone saying this after the little incident involving CB in Spain a couple of months ago.

What's clear is that he is yappy git with a nasty temper, who doesn't seem to learn from his experiences, on or off the field.

He's a cracking young footballer, but if he continues in this vein sooner or later one of the male sex is likely to sort him, good and proper.

-- Anonymous, February 15, 2002