Joe Kinnear returns as Newcastle’s director of football

Joe Kinnear, director of football. It's enough to send shivers down spines across Tyneside. The man himself announced his position on Sky Sports earlier on Monday, confirming that he'll be in charge of both transfers and playing style. It's a bizarre move, considering that transfers are the only field in which the Magpies could be considered competent over the past couple of seasons, although any move to decrease Alan Pardew's power at the club can't be totally insane. Then again, any move to give Kinnear power probably is a bit mad.

Kinnear's already told us to expect some outward movement, although it's not clear for the moment who might leave. If he decides that high-profile names like Yohan Cabaye and Papiss Cisse aren't pulling their weight, it's not difficult to see them heading for the exit, in which case Newcastle would be well and truly screwed. That might seem apocalyptic, but as Magpies blog Coming Home Newcastle has made fairly clear, disaster is to be expected with Kinnear around.