Previous Matches
Newcastle United 2 - 1 Crystal Palace Given sent off 15 Bradbury 18 Speed 48 Shearer 75 2nd January 3:00pm at ST James park
Palace Smashed (maybe just cracked)
Newcastle battled back from refereeing ineptitude to secure another home tie in the next round a lucky draw is perhaps the only way we can expect to emulate last years achievement of getting to the final. Although it has to be said that if we put in another performance like our embarrassing showing against Arsenal, I for one would rather we didnt get there. Anyway, back to the present: a game performance given that were numerically inferior to our opponents for the vast majority of the game. Luckily for us, Ian Wright no longer plays for Palace.
Ferguson is already ailing and it looks as if a groin operation will be necessary, followed by two months recuperation. His place in the starting line-up was filled by Andersson. The game was barely underway when the linesman, who obviously had Palace on his fixed odds, made his mark. Chinese Fan Zhiyi ran onto a long ball, and was clearly offside. The linesman failed to flag, but was waving his flag like a ten-year-old majorette moments later when the ball bounced off Givens chest and struck his arm. The referee, up with play, saw nothing. The linesman, running the line with all the stamina of an asthmatic pit pony, saw the offence and called referee Reed over. There was clearly no intent, but a handling offence outside the box means only one thing for a keeper and off trudged Given. Palace went ahead soon thereafter: Harpers first contribution (having come on as sub for Glass) was to pick the ball out of the net after Bradbury had headed home a Morrison cross. Newcastle seemed, surprisingly, undaunted and came back at Palace with a vengeance. Barton in particular was causing Palace all sorts of problems on the left. Barton has been a revelation at left back in the last half-dozen games and has recently signed a new four-year contract. With the addition of Domi (also on a four-year contract) Newcastle have ample cover for the left-back berth with FIVE recognised left-backs competing for the place. Would that we had 5 quality players vying for each position, but sadly the wingers berth is currently being contested by Lord Lucan, Elvis Presley and Mother Theresa. Indeed, rumour has it that Princess Diana had her contract terminated when she refused to play up front alongside Andersson, arguing that he was prettier than she was, and likely to steal the limelight as a result.
Long range efforts from Hamann and Speed were the main threats from a busy Newcastle side as they sought parity towards the end of the first half. Newcastle were level just a few minutes into the second half: Shearer knocked down a Barton in-swinger and Speed fired home. Dabizas and Shearer had efforts cleared off the line as they continued to impress, but Palace still created half-chances, Harpers save at the feel of Morrison in particular. Palace appealed strongly for a penalty when Charvet appeared to foul Bradbury in the box. To be fair, they had a case but had already received enough help from the referee and Reed remained unmoved. Newcastle took the lead with what was ultimately the winner and just desserts for their overall superiority: Barton (again) swept the ball into the box and Shearer finished from close in. This seemed to knock the fight (what little they had shown thus far) out of Palace and their general play suffered as a result, becoming more and more sloppy. Newcastle were denied a third when Speeds contact on Shearers cross was not powerful enough to get the ball past Miller.
What looked to be a catastrophe in the making turned out nice again” and we cant really ask for more than a home tie, especially against lower league opposition (although Bradford are no mugs). The cup is all we have to maintain our interest this season, and we must maintain an interest for as long as possible as I think a European place is just wishful thinking at present. Venables commented afterwards: "When we were the underdogs, we were magnificent, but when we were expected to win, we weren't good enough."Man of the Match: Shay Given
Newcastle: Given, Charvet, Hughes, Dabizas, Barton, Solano, Hamann, Speed, Glass, Andersson, Shearer. Subs: Harper, Ketsbaia, Pearce, Georgiadis, Brady.
Crystal Palace: Miller, Jihai, Smith, Moore, Mullins, Foster, Tuttle, Zhiyi, Bradbury, Morrison, Rodger. Subs: Digby, Petric, Linighan, Bent, Jansen.
Referee: M Reed (Birmingham)
Liverpool F.C. 4 - 2 Newcastle United Owen 66, 80 Solano 32 Riedle 70, 85 Hamann sent off 33 Andersson 55 28th December 3:00pm at Anfield
Revenge not so Sweet
Newcastle came to Anfield looking for revenge from the 1 - 4 defeat at St James hoping that Liverpools lack of form will continue with this game.
With Nolberto Solano reinstated on the right hand flank and Dietmar Hamann replacing the injured Rob Lee. Things started very well for Newcastle with in 20 seconds of the start Duncan Ferguson had a volley just tipped round the post by David James, things we're looking hopeful. Liverpool too we're having there chances after about 15 minutes in the first half Micheal Owen broke free of the Newcastle defence leaving Steve Howey trailing in his wake but only to have his shot palmed over the cross bar by Shay Given. Newcastle opened the scoring with 32 minutes on the clock, a cross into the box was taken of the feet of Alan Shearer but the loose ball fell to Nolberto Solano who's screaming piledriver gave David James no chance at all. However things began to look rather bleak only a minute later when Dietmar Hamann was sent off for a second bookable offence, but what incensed the Newcastle players was that no-one saw the first booking, it turns out that Hamann was given a delayed booking for the foul on McManaman which saw the Liverpool winger limping off.
The second half saw Liverpool piling forward creating numerous chances for Owen and Riedle but more often than not they we're trying to con the referee into giving penalties away. Only five minutes into second half saw Duncan Ferguson suddenly pull up with what seemed a hamstring injury. The resulting substitution of Andreas Andersson may have increased Newcastles chances of winning the game. Within minutes of his arrival on the pitch Andersson received the ball over the Liverpool defence he wormed his way around David James and rolled the ball over the line to make in 0 - 2 on 55 minutes. This goal resulted in a change of formation for Liverpool to 4-4-2. And Micheal Owen had two great chances to get a goal after 60 minutes when his shot was saved by Shay Given and a header from Owen was also saved from Given. Alas Newcastle could not hold out for the entire game and Liverpool finally scored when Jaime Carraghers deflected shot hit Micheal Owen and Shay Given could do nothing about it as it went into the top corner. After 70 minutes a terrible decision saw Karl Heinz Riedle equalise but the German clearly used his hand when scoring the goal but the referee refused to blow his whistle and at this point Anfield erupted. Liverpool came forward again and again creating chance after chance, Newcastle had to virtually take off all there attacking options with Dabizas coming on to create a five man defence. But another deflected shot had Micheal Owen knocking in his 15th goal of the season from only 5 yards after Shay Given pushed the first delfection against the post and Liverpool looked to have the game wrapped up. Then to rub salt into the wounds of Newcastle Karl Hienz Riedle broke free of the defence with only five minutes to go rounded the keeper and scored his second of the game and left the Newcastle players looking like zombies. The game ended thank god at 4 - 2 a game which Newcastle yet again deserved more from the game.
The unhappy Dutch manager said: "My players fought well and I'm proud of them. I don't blame them for the result - other forces were stronger today." Victorious manager Gerard Houllier said: "My players showed tremendous character and a good physical condition in coming back. And it could have been more."
Man of the Match: Shay Given
Liverpool: James, Staunton, Babb (McAteer 59), McManaman (Gerrard 25), Owen, Redknapp, Riedle, Heggem, Berger, Bjornebye, Carragher, Gerrard (Thompson 46).
Subs Not Used: Friedel, Harkness.Newcastle: Given, Pearce, Howey, Shearer, Speed, Hamann, Charvet, Glass (Georgiadis 67), Ferguson (Andersson 50), Solano (Dabizas 74), Hughes.
Subs Not Used: Barnes, Harper.
Sent Off: Hamann (30).
Booked: Hamann, Shearer.
Att: 44,605
Ref: S Lodge (Barnsley).
Newcastle United 0 - 3 Leeds United Kewel 37, Bowyer 62, Hassilbaink 90 26th December 3:00pm at St James Park
Mags below par again
After the past performances in the league hopes for a decent performance from Newcastle we're quite high. On a day when the weather was going to play an important role in the game Newcastle finally started a game with there £23 million strike force upfront.
In my opinion and that of my brother who was at the game Newcastle were robbed in the game and the score line more than flattered a Leeds side who had three lucky breaks in the game and scored from all of them. The first chance in the game however was Newcastle's after Leeds defender Steven Woodgate lost the ball to Shearer outside the box but the England captains shot come volley went just wide of the mark. Over half an hour had passed in the game and Leeds had failed to get a shot on target and Jimmy Hassilbaink was complaining none stop, when Leeds finally got a shot on goal it proved a turning point in the game when Hassilbaink's shot was deflected into the path of Harry Kewel and the young Australian slotted the ball home from close range on 37 minutes. Just before the break Newcastle fans thought there team had equalised when Stephen Glass had a fierce shot headed towards his own goal by Alfe Haaland but his header just missed the post, but strangely no corner was given.
After the break Newcastle applied even more pressure. Duncan Ferguson had a superb shot saved by Martin when Shearer cushioned a header into his path. Nikos Dabizas also produced a magnificent reflex save from Nigel Martin when his header from a corner seemed destined for the back of the net. But as is always the case when a team is pushing for an equaliser they gave away to much space at the back, and Leeds virtually finished the match when a Harry Kewel shot was half saved from Given and Lee Bowyer turned ball into the net after 62 minutes, in truth Shay should have done a lot better with the first strike. But as Newcastle threw more caution to the wind near the end of the game Leeds wrapped it up on 90 minutes when Jimmy Hassilbaink turned Steve Howey on the edge of the box to rifle in a superb shot. But as I said at the start of the review Leeds did not deserve to win and certainly not by that margin, this is a big set back for Newcastle and they must bounce back quickly.
After the game Ruud Gullit was obviously not happy with the result " A lot of players played too much under their level, If one player is like that then you can do something about it and it is not too bad. " There we're too many people who played under themselves and it was bad. " The biggest disappointment is that we have played well in our last four games but this is a major setback".
Man of the Match: Stephen Glass
Newcastle: Given, Charvet, Howey, Dabizas, Barton (Hughes 51), Georgiadis (Ketsbaia 62), Lee, Speed, Glass, Shearer, Ferguson.
Subs Not Used: Harper, Hamann, Solano.
Leeds: Martyn, Halle, Wetherall, Ribeiro (McPhail 57), Woodgate, Hopkin, Bowyer, Haaland, Harte, Kewell (Smith 90), Hasselbaink.
Subs Not Used: Robinson, Wijnhard, Granville.
Att: 36,783
Ref: G Willard (Worthing).
Newcastle United 1 - 0 Leicester City Glass 67 19th December 3:00pm at St James Park
Foxes hunted down
After only one win in the previous nine matches Ruud Gullit was in desperate need of a victory today, however he was going to have to do without Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson as both were not fit enough to make the final eleven but Shearer did make the subs bench.
Andreas Andersson and Temuri Ketsbaia lead the front line and yet again it was the Swede who failed to impress. Of the few chances Andersson did get you always felt he was never going to score while Ketsbaia was really short of match fitness. The first real chance of the game fell Leicester's way after 30 mins when Emile Hesky broke free of the Newcastle defence but his shot went just wide of Shay Given's post. The rest of the first half was rather uneventful with both side having a handful of half chances.
The second half started a bit more slowly, a few of Leicester players who had been suffering with flu looked very tired and struggled to keep up with the game. In the end Stephen Glass's third goal of this campaign for Newcastle was enough to win the game for Newcastle, the goal came after 67 mins when the young Scot curled the ball with his right foot into the corner of the goal giving Leicester keeper Kasey Keller no chance. In the last half an hour Alan Shearer made his return after missing the last four games through his hamstring injury and had a few shots on goal but nothing too outstanding as he was clearly taking things easy in case of aggravating his injury. With 15 mins to go Matt Elliott almost equalised with a header but his effort went wide and the game was over for Leicester.
After the game Ruud Gullit said he was pleased with the way his team performed "I think today was more professional in more areas of the pitch, and that pleases me. "I think overall we played a good game. They had a chance in the first half, and we could have been 1-0 down. But if you forget that moment, then I think we played very well and deserved to win the game. "I always had the feeling that we were in control. They had some big guys up front, and you always think a good flick-on and you could lose the game. But that was my only concern." Martin O'Neill offered no excuses for his side's below par performance "We have no energy. "There were a couple of lads who have got the flu but we were very poor today. I'm sorry it wasn't a better game as it normally is up here, but we didn't deserve it. "Newcastle played much better than us, had the ball for longer periods and deserved to win the game.
Man of the Match: Stephen Glass
Newcastle: Given, Barton, Charvet, Howey, Dabizas, Lee, Georgiadis, Speed, Glass, Ketsbaia, Andersson. Subs: Harper, Shearer, Hamann, Hughes, Solano.
Leicester: Keller, Sinclair, Elliott, Taggart, Impey, Ullathorne, Izzet, Lennon, Guppy, Cottee, Heskey. Subs: Arphexad, Savage, Zagorakis, Fenton, Kaamark.
Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees)
Blackburn 0 - 0 Newcastle United No Match report.
Middlesbrough 2 - 2 Newcastle United Townsend 24, Cooper 67 Charvet 42, Dabizas 81 6th December 4:00pm at The Riverside Stadium
DABIZAS CUTS THROUGH THE SMOG
A gritty, fighting performance was the key to this point - a decent enough result given the smoggies home form and the fact that they are, according to Martin Tyler anyway, the "top dogs" in the North East. A silly comment, I know, I think he meant to say "top smogs".
The smoggies started in whirlwind fashion as wave after wave of red-shirted mutants bore down on Harper’s goal.United weathered the early storm and looked to be getting back into the game, then predictably gave away a soft goal: As fatty prepared to take a corner, Townsend wandered into the box and found himself in acres of space. It seemed that the Newcastle defenders would only have noticed him if he was holding a megaphone and shouting into it "My name is Andy Townsend! Hey!, over here!" but he wasn’t, so when fatty literally passed the ball to him into the box he smashed it home.
Last season, going a goal down away from home meant certain capitulation so it came as a pleasant surprise that the goal seemed to sting Newcastle into action and theybegan to apply pressure on the smoggies, some neat work on the flanks by Solano and Gillespie in particular. Latein the first half Solano’s cross met the head of Ferguson whose knockdown was only partially cleared to Charvetwho was lurking at the edge of the box wearing a beret and holding "un baguette". Despite some competent performances in the stripes, he has never looked remotely like scoring so it was highly surprising when he met the ball on the half volley and fairly lashed it into the net. It was pleasing to see, in the re-play of the goal and subsequent celebration, Ferguson hugging Charvet with one arm, raising a clenched fist with the other and mouthing clearly "yes ya f***ing beauty!". This is the attitude we seek.
Newcastle clearly had the bit between their teeth at this point and the arrival of half time did not satiate their appetite as they continued their momentum after the break. The smoggies had chances of their own and it took two world-class saves from Harper to stop them re-taking the lead. First, when Deane headed fiercely goalward, Harper flew across his goal and palmed it against the post to safety; Moments later a low, hard, Townsend shot was pushed ‘round the post; a great save, but made even better by the fact that Harper could only have seen the ball at the very last moment.
Indeed, it took a wicked deflection for the smoggies to regain the lead, if not the initiative: Cooper’s speculative shot seemed to becovered by the perfect positioning of Harper until it was wildly deflected off the outstretched leg of Hughes, and ballooned into the net. Again, Newcastle refused to let their heads drop and gamely battled to re-establish parity. When Barton was replaced by Dabizas late on, the Greek moved straight to centre forward to partner Ferguson, who was again ploughing a lone furrow up front. Within a minute the goal grabbing Greek had Schwarzer flapping at air as a well placed header sailed over him for his fourth of the season. Newcastle continued to carve out a succession of half-chances and despite Gillespie almost handing the smoggies a late winner, looked the side most likely as the game drew to a close.
Overall, despite a couple of exceptions (yes, I’m off again), this was a good performance
and result. The team showed a willingness to fight back that was admirable and something that should never be lacking again. Andersson and Speed were both appalling, again.
Man of the Match: Steve Harper
Newcastle United 3 - 1 Wimbledon Solano 38, Ferguson 59, 90 Gayle 34 28th November 3:00pm at St James Park
Newcastle ease past Wombles
Duncan Ferguson was going to have to make do without Alan Shearer today as the England hitman failed a late fitness test on his hamstring, but this was no problem for the Scotsman as we we're to find out later in the game. Ferguson was to play up front with Andersson instead of Dalglish which was a surprise to most as Andersson has been quite frankly sh**e since he came back from injury no more so than today.
With Batty now relegated to the reserves Dietmar Hamann took the holding role in midfield and also got forward to good effect during the game, Stephen Glass also made his return after several weeks out with a knee injury, he only lasted 20 odd minutes however and was replaced by Solano. The game started rather slowly with neither team making much head way. The first break through in the game came from Wimbledon when a terrible Gary "s**t house" Speed backpass fell to Marcus Gayle who gave the Dons the lead after 34 minutes. Newcastle rallied after that and it only took them 4 minutes to equalise, a Keith Gillespie cross was met by Ferguson who's knock down was met by Solano who slotted away his first goal in top flight English football. Just after that Solano produced the save of the game from Neil Sullivan when his blistering shot was just knocked over the bar.
After the break Newcastle started to play a little better and Newcastle finally took the lead when Solano produced a cross for the man of the day Duncan Ferguson to volley into the net (his shot in truth was rather tame and should have been saved). What followed we're several half chances with Andersson being guilty for most of them. Wimbledon we're rather poor in the second half just humping the ball up the field for Ekoku and every opportunity. The tension was finally lifted just before injury time when a Keith Gillespie corner found Duncan Ferguson unmarked and the new signing headed the ball into the bottom of the net to seal the win for Newcastle. In truth Newcastle seemed to play well in some short periods of the game but nothing spectacular, perhaps when Shearer is fit again there will be even more success in front of goal. Steve Howey and wait for it Warren Barton we're superb at the back making several crucial challenges during the game.
Ruud Gullit's comments to be added soon.
Man of the Match: Steve Howey
Newcastle: Given (Harper 45), Barton, Howey, Charvet, Hughes, Hamann, Glass (Solano 26), Speed, Gillespie, Ferguson, Andersson. Subs Not Used: Ketsbaia, Dalglish, Beharall. Booked: Hamann. Goals: Solano 38, Ferguson 59, 90.
Wimbledon: Sullivan, Cunningham, Perry, Blackwell, Thatcher, Kennedy (Ardley 45), Earle, Ainsworth (Roberts 77), Gayle, Euell, Leaburn (Ekoku 45). Subs Not Used: Kimble, Heald. Goals: Gayle 34.
Att: 36,623
Ref: U Rennie (Sheffield).
Everton 1 - 0 Newcastle United 18 Ball (pen) 23rd November 8:00pm at Goodison Park
No Mersey Paradise
No passion no desire and thats what Newcastle badly need if they are to pull them selves out of this mess before the go into free fall. For the entire game Newcastle only had two real shots on goal and one of those came from a free kick, the first attempt came via Paul Dalglish who scuffed a shot just outside the area and Everton keeper Thomas Myhre collected the ball far too easily. After that it was all Everton with Newcastle just having no idea what to do with the ball in the last third of the pitch. Everton's Ivory Coast striker Ibrahima Bakayoko had several opportunities to open the scoring but failed on two occasions the first being when he got the better of Laurent Charvet down the left hand side shrugged the Frenchman off the ball only to be denied by Shay Given who produced another fine save. Just moment later Don Hutchison put in a superb cross for Bakayoko who's diving header just went wide of the far post. The break through for Everton came thanks to a terrible tackle by Carl Serrant who had a nightmare for the entire first half, he brought down Hutchison and teenager Micheal Ball blasted the spot kick past Shay Given who nearly got a touch on the ball, Everton now just had to sit back on the game.
In the second half Newcastle looked more composed with Albert coming on for Serrant and Charvet moving over to the right hand side. But for all the pressure they put on Everton the only chance they had was a 35 yard free kick from Dietmar Hamann. Keith Gillespie was the only bright spark in the game but for all his endeavour down the right flank his crosses into the box where never challenged. Everton managed to hold out till the final whistle with the entire team camped in there own half. One strange decision from Gullit was when he took off Paul Dalglish and replaced him with Garry Brady ( who had the odd chance on goal himself ) I'm not saying Brady should not have come on but why Dalglish when it was plain to see that Andersson was playing awfull if he didn't lose the ball he was off-side, he also looked very thin perhaps due to his bout of glandular fever. But Newcastle need to improve a great deal even to stay in the Premier league, Gullit needs a more creative midfielder but things may improve when we are back to our full strength including Glass Gillespie and Shearer in the team.....I hope.
After the game in a lengthy interview for Sky Sports Manager Ruud Gullit said: "In the first half, we didn't compete at all. We were lucky to be only 1-0 down. The commitment is there and we were a different team in the second half, but it was sloppy to give away a penalty. "I inherited a team facing relegation. I'm very frustrated. I know we are never going to score a goal because we don't have the players who can give us power. I need to buy some players and I've been screaming that in the newspapers." Gullit again denied speculation that funds would be created through the sale of Alan Shearer. He said: "For me, Alan Shearer is not for sale, but it's also important that he wants to stay. I don't know the answer to that."
Man of the Match: Keith Gillespie
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Newcastle United 1 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday Dalglish 4 Charvet 80 o.g. 8th October 3:00pm at Old Trafford
OWLS
HIT AND SO ARE WE
Another appalling performance at home saw the team booed off
for the
first time since Gullit’s appointment and since the
opening day calamity
against Charlton. Now, more than ever, it seems that
the club really
has no idea where it is supposed to be heading,
advancing down one
avenue with spirited performances like the recent draw with
the scum,
meandering back to the cross-roads with atrocious
performances like
this one. Perhaps the clearest indication of the amount
of surgery this
team requires was given by Spiderheid himself after the
match: 'There is
no doubt I have taken on a far more difficult job here than I
had at
Chelsea. It was never going to be easy but I came into
it with my eyes
open. I knew what I was taking on and was not
afraid to face up to a
challenge. I am not daunted by it. I know what
needs doing. We have a
big squad but it is imbalanced.' Changed words indeed
from the "We are
going to be bigger than Man Utd." bluster that followed
his appointment.
In the pub toilet prior to the game, your honour, an Owls fan
told me
that I would find Wednesday to be the poorest team to play at
St James’
Park this year. I disagreed at the time, and even more
so after the
game; We are without a doubt the worst side to play at
St James’ Park
this year. Ironically, it started brightly enough when
Barton hit a
long range drive goalwards. A slight deflection
confused Srnicek who
could only parry the ball out to Dalglish who clinically
slotted home.
Newcastle were, for the second time in three days, a goal up
at home
early on to supposedly inferior opposition. The
initiative should have
been well and truly grasped and a thumping victory the
result. Also for
the second time in three days, Newcastle failed to do exactly
that and
despite a stirring period of play from minutes 20 to 40,
never looked
remotely like capitalising on their lead. Indeed, had
it not been for
yet more smart stopping from Given, and a dodgy offside
decision,
Wednesday would surely have taken the points and not been
grudged them.
On 18 minutes the Newcastle defence was catatonic as Booth
ran on to a
ball from Carbone and netted. What looked to be an
extremely close
offside decision went not with the attacker but with the
defence. Twice
more in the first half Given made important blocks from Booth
and
Carbone, and Barton cleared off the line following a
defensive mix-up
between Hughes and Given.
Towards the end of the half Shearer began rubbing his
thigh gingerly
and it was no surprise when he did not appear for the second
45,
Andersson replacing him. From this point on,
Newcastle’s play became
ragged in the extreme. Effectively playing without a
winger (it is now
too cruel to use this term to describe Gillespie), Newcastle
threw
everything up the middle of the park. A succession of
headed clearances
were the order of the day for Atherton and Alexandersson, and
if it were
Andersson who advanced with any temerity, a simple nudge was
all that
was required to dispossess him. Andersson’s abject
failure to adapt to
the Premiership is, frankly, embarrassing to watch, and the
poor lad
should be put out of his misery as quickly as possible.
The standard of
football went down quicker than Monica Lewinsky as the half
progressed
and the pain of watching a team of highly paid and supposedly
highly
skilled individuals playing in this fashion became augmented
by a
feeling far more disturbing: I began to suspect that
some of the
Newcastle players WERE NOT TRYING. I’m sure I was
just being paranoid
as surely a professional sportsman on £25,000 a week would
sweat blood
and fight like a tiger to win the day, so it must just be
me. What an
unpleasant feeling though, as I looked in particular at two
members of
the Newcastle midfield and read body language from them that
shrugged
and said "I really couldn’t give a shit, either
way". It couldn’t be
true, could it?
It became clear that Wednesday were well worth a point and
that their
scoring was almost inevitable. The manner in which the
goal arrived was
comic in the extreme, or should that be tragi-comic?
In 80 minutes a
high, speculative, "nothing" ball was lofted into
the Newcastle area.
Hughes and Charvet both looked skyward where, and this can be
the only
explanation, their collective attention was captured by the
beautiful
navy blue of the early-evening Tyneside sky. As the
ball dropped from
the heavens Rudi shouted "mine!" and as he went to
control the ball, it
jumped off the outside of his boot and trundled over the
line. It was
several seconds before Hughes and Charvet rejoined the rest
of us, each
of their faces now bearing an innocent and far away
child-like smile.
Newcastle by this point had completely lost the plot and were
giving the
ball away willy-nilly as attacks broke down before even the
half-way
line had been reached. Thankfully Wednesday were almost
as bad as us
and failed to make the most of the obscene amount of
possession we
gifted them. The final whistle was accompanied by loud booing
from all
parts of the ground. The merits and demerits of
booing your own team
are debatable, and though your humble narrator did not take
part, it was
easy to empathise, indeed feel the disappointment and despair
of the
crowd. Only a few short years ago some visiting teams
were beaten even
before they came onto the park because they knew they were
going to get
a hiding. No one fears us anymore and we have to ask
"Where do we go
from here?" Gullit’s reign, all two months of
it, has already seen
three false dawns. If this is "sexy",
Ruud Gullit must indulge in
sexual practises of, shall we say, an unconventional nature.
Will the real Newcastle United please stand up?
Man
of the Match: Shay Given
Newcastle
United (4-4-2): Given; Barton, Charvet, Hughes, Griffin
(Serrant,46min); Gillespie, Lee, Hamann (Batty, 34), Speed;
Dalglish,
Shearer (Andersson, 46). Booked: Hamann, Barton, Batty.
Sheffield
Wednesday (4-4-2): Srnicek; Atherton, Thome, Walker,
Hinchcliffe;
Alexandersson, Jonk, Sonner (Magilton, 56), Rudi; Carbone
(Humphreys, 65),
Booth. Booked: Sonner.
p.s. For the vast majority, the second half appearance of a
streaker was
the highlight. A "well blessed" young lady
ran the length of the pitch
before throwing her arms around Carl Serrant, who looked
highly
embarrassed by her attentions. On a personal level, the
most pleasing
aspect of the experience was seeing a large pair of breasts
without
having to pay for the privilege.
Match report by John Hunt.
Manchester United 0 - 0 Newcastle United 8th October 3:00pm at Old Trafford
SCUM STALEMATE
Newcastle’s first draw of the season was well deserved in this gritty and tactical performance at the home of our Mancunian, sorry, Cockney pals. Gullit displayed a tactical complexity that I honestly thought was beyond him as the side had a radical look about it in terms of personnel and formation; A basic diamond formation pinned up by Batty with Glass to his left, Georgiadis to his right and Hammann ahead, behind Shearer and Dalglish. A flat back four read Griffin, Dabizas, Hughes, Charvet.
So Newcastle’s aim was to play "aggressive defence" in search of, primarily, a point, and hopefully more. That we got a point was, in truth, a good result. A frenetic first half then of possession football with the Newcastle’s players scampering around the park like excitable terriers, snapping at the heels of their opponents. Dalglish courted controversy once again when he rounded Schmeichel, went wide and then was hustled off the ball by a couple of defenders.It was, at best, borderline, and referee Dunn sawit that way also.
Early into the second half Brown sent Cole through with a neat pass and Cole, anxious to please those of us who maintain he has never reached the heights he scaled with us, blasted wildly over. Brown was instrumental in the next chance of the game when he miss-hit a pass back to Schmeichel. Dalglish intercepted the ball but the bacon salesman "made himself big" and blocked the shot.
In 63 minutes, David "are you sure the kid is yours?" Beckham missed the best chance of the match; a sweet ball from Neville (no, the other one) split the Newcastle defence and Beckham burst through; With just Given to beat he shot wide, poor lamb. The noisy contingent of Toon travellers were quick toconsole him, however. At the death Given saved bravely at the feet of Yorke following a mazy run in thebox.
Newcastle came, in the words of Gullit "to win the game" but they didn’t create much. It would be more honest to admit that had it been offered before the game, a point would most certainly have been taken. This is a very good result, no question. Sadly, denying the scum 2 points at this stage of the season doesn’t f*** up their Premiership chances in the same way as our point gained in the "Theatre of Wet Dreams" (get that Ryan Giggs duvet cover in the machine) back in April did, but hopefully when the Cockney hordes descend on SJP in March next year, we can finish the job. Here’s to it.
Match report by John Hunt.
Man of the Match: David Batty
Newcastle United 0 - 3 West Ham United Ian Wright 50, 90 Trevor Sinclar 76
31st October 3:00pm at St James Park
POLL
AXED
A stunning performance from West Ham debutante Graham Poll
led to a
comfortable away victory for the Londoners. He was at
the heart of
every key moment of the game, and it’s heartening
that in this day of
£50,000 weekly pay packets, young Graham picked up only
£400 for his
afternoon’s work.
In an even and keenly contested first half, Newcastle had the
bulk of
the possession, but it was the visitors who looked more
incisive and
they threatened from early on. Given was called into
action several
times in the opening stages of the game, making good stops
from Sinclair
and hurrying off his line to save at the feet of Kitson who
had been put
through by a cute reverse pass from Wright.
Newcastle’s efforts were more of the long range variety
and the lively
Dalglish went close with a couple of
efforts. Poll had been quite
quiet up to this point but the breathless youngster exploded
into life
in the 18th minute: Solano’s corner was met
powerfully by the head of
Shearer and the home prepared to celebrate their lead.
Poll, though,
had other ideas as he deftly raised his whistle to his lips
and with an
exquisite purse and blow, the scoresheet remained
blank. Moments later
Poll cemented his claim for man-of-the-match in a
beautiful sweeping
move involving himself and Impey: As Dalglish charged
into the box and
was chopped down from behind by Impey, surely everybody
thought that the
natural conclusion would have been a penalty award and an
early bath for
the latter. The fools! Poll insistence that the
game should "flow" led
to him standing on the 18 yard line, fully 8 yards from the
incident,
beautifully doing nothing at all, save to waggle his hands
slightly at
his sides.
Half-time came and went, and it was only two minutes into the
second 45
when Poll became the only choice for the champagne with a
movement that
it would not be unfair to describe as
"unbelievable": Pearce and
Sinclair both went up for high ball, Sinclair hit the deck
and as Poll
shimmied across to the scene, the crown wondered if even a
booking for
Pearce would be in his repertoire. Poll, now clearly
warming to his
task, was not to be undone however; In an
impeccable move he fooled
every player on the park by deftly removing the red card from
his pocket
and brandishing it at Pearce in a display of
breathtaking incompetence.
The crowd was simply astonished and it was some seconds
before Poll
reaped the adulation his actions deserved:
"Referee you’re a f***ing
idiot!" and "Get to f*** you arsehole!"
acclaimed the crowd to a chorus
of ecstatic booing.
Poll had clearly decided that the game should not have
continued in the
even, open and entertaining fashion that had been seen to
this point,
and with his dismissal of Pearce ensured that it would
not. A tactical
substitution by Gullit saw Glass removed from the wounded
home side, the
left sided defender Pistone replacing him. It seemed,
frankly,
tactically naive to play a pressure game at home when
numerically
inferior, but this was what Newcastle did. Whereas it
would not be
unreasonable, while parity remained, to expect Newcastle to
sit in and
hit on the break, they launched wave after wave of
pedestrian-paced
attacks which were meat and drink for the impressive
Ferdinand and
Ruddock. The tactic was ruthlessly exposed as folly by
Wright and
Sinclair who launched a series of counter-attacks
themselves, and had
an extra man to boot. In 56 minutes Wright latched on
to a speculative
clearance and steamed up the park towards Given.
Sinclair peeled off to
the left and took a couple of defenders with him.
Wright ignored
Sinclair and arrowed the ball into the side netting from 20
yards with a
beautifully accurate shot. Newcastle, almost
unbelievably, continued to
press and were left with a bloody nose on 72 when Sinclair
ended the
game as a contest, aided immeasurably by the early work of
Poll: A fast
break saw Sinclair attempt to find Wright in the area but his
pass was
deflected to Kitson who simply shielded the ball as
Sinclair ran in and
thumped it past the helpless Given.
Two impressive goal line clearances by Griffin and then
Pistone
prevented the scoreline becoming embarrassing, but in injury
time Wright
finished what he had started by running onto a
defence-splitting through
ball in another West Ham counter. He picked up the ball
and fired past
Given who was arguably poorly positioned, beaten as he was
from range at
his near post. The final whistle gave the crowd a last
and
well-deserved opportunity to express their opinion of
Poll’s
performance, and a heartfelt expression it certainly was.
(with thanks to Paul Coles for the headline)
Man of the Match: Graham Poll
Tranmere Rovers 0 - 1 Newcastle United Paul Dalglish 30 27th October 7:45pm at Prenton Park
Newcastle battle through to next round
On another wet night on Mersyside Newcastle started there Worthington's Cup campaign against a Tranmere side who have blown hot and cold in there league so far this season. The game started rather slowly with Newcastle having a larger percentage of the possession, the pitch however proved difficult with the ball zipping around the surface. Gary Speed had one of the earlier attempts on goal but his shot went wide of the mark. Kenny Ions gave Newcastle an early shock after the defence let him run with the ball but his powerful shot was saved low down by Given. Then after two consecutive corners Alan Shearer had a headed attempt blocked by Kenny Ions on the line, although there was a suspicion of hand ball by the Tranmere player. After 10 minutes Newcastle started to develop a pattern of play and began to get on top of Tranmere, in particular Paul Dalglish who was chasing all over the pitch.
Just when you thought it might me getting easier for Newcastle a snap shot from Kenny Ions yet again from outside the box lead to Shay Given pushing the ball just enough to clear the post to go out for a corner. More worries appeared for Newcastle on 27 minutes when Newcastle old boy David Kelly spun of the shoulder of Charvet but was denied by Given. A quick clearance following a Tranmere corner almost released Solano but Dalglish's ball was hit way to hard for the Peruvian, typical of Newcastle so far on the night. Then on 30 minutes came the break through when after a superb Nolberto Solano through ball Paul Dalglish slipped the Tranmere defender and Dalglish skipped by the Tranmere keeper and the young Scotsman slotted the ball into the open net, Dalglish quite clearly showed his delight in scoring the goal rushing to the travelling Newcastle fans. After the goal went in Newcastle looked more composed in the game as Tranmere started to come forward more leaving space behind them for Newcastle. Newcastle had a few more chances in the first half including a promising move cut short by the half time whistle.
The second half had more trouble in store for Newcastle as they were outplayed for large parts of the second 45. Both Kenny Ions and David Kelly were guilty of not putting chances away for Tranmere as Newcastle were put under some severe pressure from corner kicks and throw ins. On the few occasions that Newcastle did manage to break on Tranmere the passing was quite poor, and often United gave the ball away to easily in there own half causing many of there own problems. Keith Gillespie was introduced for the last 20 odd minutes but failed to make any real impact in the game. the only good thing to come out of the game was that Paul Dalglish broke his duck for the Mags. At the final whistle is was a good result for Newcastle the same score at St James last season when Newcastle faced Tranmere in the F.A cup.
Post match comments to be added soon
Man of the Match: (Yet again) Shay Given
Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 0 Newcastle United Iverson 39,76 24th October 3:00pm at White Hart Lane
