To me a big part of pre-season is getting to know your new team-mates; how they play, how they work, that kind of thing. Obviously that isn’t going to happen as we have four of our first-team squad in Holland plus another four on the treatment table.
However, as one door closes another door opens, and that has been something that has allowed me to be impressed with a certain new signing who looks as though he has real promise havig inly recently arrived on Tyneside.
Mehdi Abeid has done nothing but impress me since his arrival. We’ve seen him three times now and each time I’ve seen him he has offered the team something different. In fact I would go as far to say that he hasn’t looked out of place in the first team as yet and would even give him the rather dubious honour of being the best black and white player on the park against Orlando.
Abeid is only 18 yet he has the touch and vision of someone much older. Initially the former Lens youngster was signed as an addition to our ever growing numbers of young, talented players, but if he carries on in the same vein I can see it being only a matter of time before he is considered a first-team squad member.
For me he has arguably been the success story of the pre-season to date, which is a nice surprise to be honest. He seems like a good lad and his Facebook profile is filling up with pictures of him and his new team-mates having a laugh and carry on so he seems to be enjoying himself. Long may it continue.
I know a lot of you guys have seen him in action, either at Darlington, Kansas or Orlando, so I just wanted to see if you guys have felt the same? Have you been impressed with Mehdi Abeid?
Could we have another hidden gen on our hands?
He signed from Lens not rennes but i agree he has looked v good. Always wants to have the ball which shows the confidence he has in himself. Very good player and will be a good impact player. What position does he actually play though?
Andy(Quote)
Ha, I knew it was one or the other and they both sound the same. I’m sticking to that excuse 😉
Yeah he seems canny. I’ve seen him play on both wings and a bit in the middle but I couldn’t tell you what his strongest position was. One of the wings, but which one? 😕 😕 😕
toonsy(Quote)
when we first bought him…they said he was a defending midfielder…but what i saw of him…he just looked a good player..always wonting the ball…beating players and making good runs…thats why i believe when they got him…he said he would play in the first team…this season…thats why they loaned out lua lua..
asim(Quote)
Maybe carr and Pardew told everyone that he was one for the reserve team just to protect him and not build everyones expectations up . The lad has it seems more about him than a lot of our present first teamers and it would not surprise me if he was at least on the bench for the Arsenal game .The lad has more Pace and technical ability than Raylor for a start .
Axel(Quote)
Axel – My left ******* has more pace and technical ability than Raylor has 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Doesn’t say a lot for your left ******* though Toonsy!!
Groucho(Quote)
yup he’s looked decent, good enough then you’re old enough in my book
not that bothered about results in friendlies, people going on about how we haven’t spent owt is rubbish, liverpool have spent over 100 million and got hammered 3 nowt by Hull ffs
stevep(Quote)
Will the bedsheets brigade with Pardwho oot be coming on tonight?
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
I was very impressed with Abeid last night. I brought a few friends to the game and they all wanted to know who Abeid and Vukic were even during the warm-up! When they both went on, we were excited to finally get some creativity out of the midfield as smith, cheik, and gosling really weren’t making much happen going forward. Gosling kept tucking into the center as well, so that prevented him from doing a bit.
But Abeid made some great moves forward. He took players on and was a real nuisance. Demba Ba was also making good runs, but was still a little rusty to make anything happen
AndrewT(Quote)
He was the brightest spark of the Newcastle side last night. That was however, not too hard to be. But he was quite crafty. Looking forward to see how he develops.
lanelane(Quote)
Groucho – 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Raylor’s good from dead ball situations … 😯
geoff777(Quote)
Another?
Stuart79(Quote)
Yes, like Cheik Tiote was a diamond found by us. That kind of thing )
toonsy(Quote)
Is everyone aware of how poor Orlando are considered?
The USA third division. 😯
What are Carrs starlets playing at? 🙄
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Aside from Colo, and a little bit from Jonas and Jose at times, the stand out players last night were the 3 young guys! I was impressed with Tavernier for the whole 90 minutes, especially once he got to play right back rather than the left.
Abeid showed terrific control and skill. As mentioned, he was very much like a little Ben Arfa at times. He was mostly playing on the left with Jonas on the right.
I think they actually shifted to 3-5-2 for the last half hour with Shola and Ba up top, with Vukic playing in the playmaker role. James played the third center back too. We finally looked dangerous once those 3 subs were made
Pardew is obviously still playing with different tactics right now. I really think we could be a force to be reckoned with next season with our full squad and a new striker!
AndrewT(Quote)
@andrewT
Really? A force to be reckoned with next season?
We haven’t won yet in the USA and got beat off a third tier side and you say a force.?
I would rather see a win and a good display before I made those outlandish comments. 🙄
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Bobby, after talking to a few season ticket holders, Orlando are apparently a top side in the USL, and the way the American soccer system is set up, they have actually set up a 4-year plan to becoming an MLS franchise. This is only their first year actually.
AndrewT(Quote)
Stuart and Bobby’s negativity aside, as the blog subject is Mehdi Abeid, the lad seems to be getting some rave write ups. Could be a real surprise this season, who makes the breakthrough to the first team squad. Tavernier and Vukic were also quite good yesterday apparently.
Nice to see the fringe youngsters grabbing the headlines over the seasoned pros… 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
Bobby – You do know how the American system works don’t you? There are no promotions or relegations as yet and teams are elected into the MLS. The fact this is Orlando’s first season is why they are in the bottom league. They’ll be in the MLS soon enough.
toonsy(Quote)
I’m quite excited to see some of the youngsters make a breakthrough this season. I think Vuckic, Tavernier and of course Abeid were brought to America for a reason. They’re obviously in the plans to make some sort of impact to the first team.
On another note, I have feeling that Gosling is going to be our new Nolan type player. I didn’t realise how massive he actually is and I reckon he could do a job scoring goals in the box much like Nolan did for us last year…. That is of course presuming he plays regularly this season which is doubtful looking at how many midfielders we have. If only that were the situation up front and left back…
MentalToonHamster(Quote)
Bobby, last night we started with an uncreative midfield of smith and tiote. A recovering Gosling was play right mid, and Barton is an exception for being able to play well out there when his natural position is center mid.
Best and Lovenkrands were very ineffective, making terrible runs, and just making poor decisions in general.
With a new striker, and having players like Barton, Cabaye, HBA, and even Marveaux available, our squad can definitely challenge anybody
AndrewT(Quote)
Are we getting nearer establishing our first eleven?
Which goalkeeper? Krul seems to be ahead of the others.
Back four look to be Simmo Saylor Colo and which other
Midfield to be Tiote Barton Cabbaye and a n other
Strikers Ba with Benny when fit or Erdinc if he signs this week.
On the bench Wiilo Vuckic Abeid Jonas
Anybody got any thoughts how our line up will look against Arsenal
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Barton pledges future to Magpies
Manchester United the latest big club linked with Magpies midfielder
🙄
AngelOfDeath(Quote)
Mental, that’s a good point about Gosling. He was always looking dangerous around the box and wanting to take a shot. U could easily tell that he wanted to be in the center though.
AndrewT(Quote)
This young player strikes me as our very own ‘New’ N’Zogbia! lol Honestly he is of a similar style and just as direct as the other Frenchie. With this in mind I would notr waste 10M on N’Zogbia and use that money on a quality forward and possibly our future #9. Erdinc or Sturridge and I’ll be happy.
JP…from The Rock(Quote)
Fair enough if they are better than I thought but I find AndrewT’s comments about us being a force to be reckoned with next season, still outlandish. 🙄
Where does he get that from? 😕
I’m all for being positive when it justifies it but from what I’ve read of both games, it doesn’t warrant the optimism that some are giving it.
It’s straight from Pardews and Lambias’ hymn sheet and for me, bullshit. 😕
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
bobby,talks sence 😆
hitman(Quote)
We desperately need a replacement for Jose. Last night he was very focused on playing for himself rather than for the team.
AndrewT(Quote)
Bobby – I suppose it depends on the definition of force to be reckoned with. In terms of the title then no, no we’re not 😆
In terms of a force to be reckoned with for say the top eight, then maybe.
Personally I want to see the whole together first, which I will do at Leeds. I’d like to see our strongest side start that game and make a judgement on that.
toonsy(Quote)
Yes I was impressed with him and again last night. Pardew said that he needs to learn things and not get caught in possession. I disagree, I think he should be encouraged to run at people and try things and even if he only gets though every couple of times perhaps it is worth it. His creativity should be encouraged and I would hate to think we were here to take it away from talented players from the continent. I think in the English game now we are too afraid to try things and take people on and it is really sad. Keep on doing what your doing Mehdi and you will be a great player next season.
DJG(Quote)
@andrewT
The reason why he was playing an uncreative midfield, not a strong forward line and youngsters is because our squad is wafer thin on quality.
If we suffer injuries, which is inevitable, then they are the players who will step in.
After our starting 11 we are ****. 🙄 It’s the same season on season.
🙁
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Personally I think Ashley is doing a pretty good job.
He will turn the clubs fortunes around in no time at all.
All the work they are doing is very sensible, surely everyone can see that.
Newcastle cannot go out and spend fortunes on players, so instead they use an amazing business run system that will be the envy of all similar clubs.
Very soon we will have a league of teams who have virtually unlimited funds eg man utd, man city, chelsea, liverpool, then the very well run big clubs eg arsenal, newcastle, everton, then the rest.
Very soon Newcastle will be a top 6 club on the verge of the Champions League.
Watch this space!
I have contacts within the club and you would be amazed at what they are doing. Things are looking very good indeed!!!
The Agent(Quote)
top 8 🙄
hitman(Quote)
@toonsy
You say;
Personally I want to see the whole together first, which I will do at Leeds. I’d like to see our strongest side start that game and make a judgement on that.
Personally I want to see a decent display first before making outlandish statements based on **** performances. 😕
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Hitman – It was an example, hence the “say top eight”.
Could be top ten, twelve, depending on how you define it.
Why do people read into things what they want to? Is everyone really that simple? 🙄
toonsy(Quote)
@the agent
You been sniffing glue. 😆
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Bobby – Everyone has a right to their own opinion though 😉
toonsy(Quote)
yeah im that simple 😆
fk me lad weres the goals coming from,when the judas did one none of owa strikers stood up,now we have BA in, ashley is hoping he can hit the net,if he gets injured we are back to square one,but theres still time in the transfer market for ashley to come good 😆 😆 😆
hitman(Quote)
@toonsy
Of course and we’ve all got a right to disagree. 😉
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
I thought we had signed Erdinc according to this mornings papers. 😕
Having a laugh. No chance. 🙄
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Hitman – I remember a lot of people saying the exact same thing this time last year. “Carroll is unproven”, “Nolan won’t cut it” and so on. Just wait and see man 🙄
toonsy(Quote)
ok il wait and see
im looking forward to the fantasy league.should be great fun and bannter
hitman(Quote)
I’m obviously not saying we’ll be pushing for title. Simply that we could give any team a very hard time and possibly have some big upsets this year.
Sorry for not being specific. I forgot that I needed to spell everything out for Bobby, otherwise he would twist it into something moronic. Like he did.
I wonder what kind of things he would w saying if he were a Liverpool fan…
AndrewT(Quote)
The squad is thin in quality and I guess we have to ship out the likes of Best, Loven, Routledge, Smudger and Ranger only on loan before the board will be keen to bring in many more new faces.
I think you can virtually count Jose as gone too but where are the takers for the afore mentioned players There are none
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
hey toonsy it looks like things havnt worked out for the judas 😆 😆
http://yfrog.com/klcbwqgj
hitman(Quote)
@andrewT
Based on two **** performances you believe we’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
No twisting of words at all. Just pointing out you are talking rubbish IMO . 😕
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
To keep on Toonsy’s good side i will add Raylor to list who should be punted on.
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Hitman – Without clicking, is that the one in the painters van? 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy@49…aye it is… 😉 just clicked it me sel’
Munich Mag(Quote)
tiler 😆
hitman(Quote)
Just been looking through an old thread on .org where I posed the question about Andy Carroll being good enough for the Premier League.
Some people should seriously considering making judgements in the future 😆
hitman says:
May 15, 2010 at 3:02 pm
id like to hope so toonsy,but have me doubts
😳 😳 😳
Stuart79 says:
May 15, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Well he won’t score as many as has he this season. He needs to improve his scoring with his feet – That will come in time I’m sure but I don’t like the idea of having to rely on him next seaon. He’s still a young in himself.
He won’t get as many free headers in the PL that’s for sure.
😳 😳 😳
😆
toonsy(Quote)
whats wrong with my comment 😕
the lad has did fk all in the prem,this lad is the next gazza..
give ya heed a shake,how long did it take for you to find that 😕
hitman(Quote)
@toonsy
I bet you are still searching for a wrong prediction by me.
I’m always right. You’re wasting your time. 😀 😀
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Bobby…be gentle with toonsy man… 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
Why is everyone so fussed about a pre season match, its a run about for getting fitness and used to having a ball back at your feet, the games i would expect them to give it a good go at winning is the leeds and fiorantina matches to build up some momentum for the gooners. HWTL
Danufck(Quote)
@MM
he’s still searching. 😆
Bobby Shinton number 9(Quote)
Hitman – It’s alright. We all make a wrong’un at some point 😉 😆
Bobby – 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Toonsy…Bobby’s starting to get a bit edgy regarding Erdinc maybe coming in and having to get himsel doon to Fenwicks window….. 😆
Munich Mag(Quote)
The USA tour is a series of practice games for getting fit you fool.
The Agent(Quote)
Bobby, why are you so edgy?
Friendlies are about getting some playing time, trying a few things to see what works and what doesnt. For the teams we are playing its like a cup final and for us its a training session.
Did we or did we not let 6 in against a lower league side in a pre season friendly and go on to win the championship? I think our friend is a little excited but I think what he meant to say was, if the squad we have gels and we get a couple more new faces in we wont be an easy game for anyone.
toondj(Quote)
i dont know, why we are talking ****.. the team is not lost anything from last season but an average tall stricker who can hold up play… he is half or 1/4 good as our “leagend 9”. there is plenty of goals if the midfield can provide and by seeing the new players and the HBA being fit we will be better than other teams. but i 4 once want to see the likes of smith and co gone because he is not worth to play in any division anywhere in the world!. its the past and lets hope ashley dont sign players like smith and co.. the future is bright and lets hope we get the team to play 4 each other and give it all for the fans and we do need a team and charactor like Barton… i think give the No.9 to barton… he will sore 10+ goal this season.
Max-T-million(Quote)