Our boys are sharing the NUFC vision…

Marveaux happy to be missing out
This is some interesting news for different reasons, reported by Sky Sports and the Northern Echo for the respective players.

Sylvain Marveaux is a new signing, but his latest reserves performance has ensured he is banging on the door with real intent to get into the 1st team fold. ‘Loverman’ in the meantime seems to keep having to prove himself to the fans over and over again, but appears content to just be a part of our set up.

I don’t mean in a lazy, collect my pay check attitude kind of way either. The guy has a habit of keeping his head down, getting on with his job and doing his bit when called upon. I’m not going to delve into too much detail about each respective player’s career journeys as they will both be covered at some point in the ‘fringe player focus’ articles.

All I will say is that in 78 appearances Peter Lovenkrands has scored 28 goals, a ratio of less than 3 games between goals. Although strictly talking Premier League, his ratio is pretty much 1 goal in 4 games. A lot of these are substitute appearances too. Not too shabby for somebody it seems our fans are not fussed about keeping! Out of the 3 games he has started this season, we have won them all and he has contributed with 2 goals for good measure.

Sylvain Marveaux on the other hand is a player our fans are already raving about despite having only made 2 starts alongside his 4 cameos as a late substitute. He had already demonstrated good technical ability, neat touches and passes and a couple of decent runs highlighting his speed. Then he stuck two balls into the back of the Bolton Reserves’ net the other day following an exceptional performance from both wings.

With our team performing so admirably and finding themselves mingling amongst the Premiership’s elite after seven games, it is incredibly hard for anybody not currently in the starting eleven to force their way into the fold. Alan Pardew could potentially find himself struggling to keep players such as these two happy when they are forced to settle for the odd fleeting appearance from the bench or some Carling Cup match against lower league opposition.

However, such is the team spirit and togetherness that has been created initially by Chris Hughton and then progressed by Alan Pardew and the unsung backroom staff, such as Assistant Coach John Carver, legend and Reserves Coach Peter Beardsley and First Team Coach Steve Stone to name but a few, that the players seem genuinely happy just to be doing their bit for the cause, no matter how big a part that actually is.

Marveaux had this to say on the subject;

“At the moment, it isn’t easy to get into the team because they are unbeaten. We’re all working hard and trying to show the manager what we can do,” the 25-year-old told the Northern Echo.

“I’m ready, and I’ll wait for my chance. The team is fourth in the table – that’s great. We have a good group here, and we know we have to keep going like this. I think we can do some great things this season. Everything’s okay and I’m happy to be here at Newcastle. It’s very good for us – we’re in a healthy situation. We’re winning football matches, and the guys on the wings are performing well when they’re asked to perform. Sometimes it is difficult to change a winning side.”

No signs of throwing his toys out of the pram there then. Meanwhile, Lovenkrands was asked for his thoughts on the matter too;

“That’s just the way it is,” Lovenkrands explained. “Even though I did well at Forest, I knew I probably wasn’t going to start on the Saturday because the other two (Leon Best & Demba Ba) had done fantastic.”

“You just need to wait for your chance and when it comes try to take it as best you can. It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation so I know what to do. I hope if I get my chance again, I’ll grab it like I normally do. I’ve proved what I can do, so I know if I’m called upon, I’m ready. But I’m just trying to concentrate as much as possible on the team. If we get three points, it doesn’t matter who plays.”

So there you go, two lads just being good professionals. No rocking the boat, sulking or running to the press to bleat about not getting a fair chance. They are happy to keep on grafting and supporting their teammates until they get their chance.

If their attitude is a true reflection of the general ethos within the players’ camp then that can only be a good thing and sends out the right message to the youngsters looking to progress as Newcastle United players and future role models themselves.

Howay the lads!

About Shamrock

Like everyone here, support Newcastle United. Not the easiest side to feel good about at times, but it's our side!

47 thoughts on “Our boys are sharing the NUFC vision…

  1. Brilliant. Both of them are showing the exact attitude that we, as fans, should want at the club. they know things are going well and that it’s tough to get in the team at the moment, butmost importantly they are keen to keep proving their point when they can. Can’t ask for any more really. Long may it continue 🙂

      (Quote)

  2. On Lovenkrands, for me the problem is that he scores or does nothing. There is no inbetween. Like Best at Wolves on Saturday didn’t score, but he did link up play and set up chances etc etc. Lovenkrands doesn’t do any of that. He literally just scores and that is it or does nothing and that is it.

      (Quote)

  3. Got to agree with all thats been said, what more can we ask for. Got a couple of players who are good enough and really should be in the first team every week, at least on the bench if not starting. They dont whinge and complain, do their stuff in the ressies and hope for the chance to get moved up to the 1st team starting place. Means we have players fighting for places in the right way all the time, can only improve the team, long may it continue

      (Quote)

  4. Toonsy, know what you mean about him, but good backup, kind of player sitting on the bench who we can bring on and he might just put the ball in the back of the net. Wouldn’t start him apart from maybe cup games, but not bad for a backup striker. When we buy somebody else, maybe his time will be done with us, but for now, hope he just gets on with it and takes his chance when he gets it

      (Quote)

  5. Good article Shamrock.
    Its great to have such a pos attitude coming from the whole squad for a change. Long may it and the good results continue.
    I do like Loverhands, he is a good finisher but doesn’t get into the right places often enough. Expect he will see out his contract with us and that will be that. No probs that for me.
    Mareaux tho is a bright new prospect and there can be no doubt his time will come. Got a good attitude, and once he gets in the team will be hard to displace.

      (Quote)

  6. Spot on Toonsy! Lovenkrands does absolutely nothing when he doesn’t score. He has scored some great goals but we can’t afford a passenger like that for 89 mins.

      (Quote)

  7. Cheers BB. Toonsy thanks for taking the time to put this up, if you me instructions on the backroom way of doinf things, i’ll have a tinker and get to know it tonight…

    I see what you guys mean about Loverman and his contribution, however his principle job is to score and he does that pretty well. When we consider that he is regarded as probably our 4th choice striker at the moment by our management, then he is pretty good value for it. You guys are right though, not going to realistically nail down a regular starting position for himself…

    Marveaux is looking the real deal, although it is early days yet. Just hope his stamina holds and the injuries strike the lad…

      (Quote)

  8. Shamrock – No probs. I’ll ping you an e-mail in a bit 🙂

    It would have been up earlier but I didn’t wake up on time 😆

      (Quote)

  9. Lovenkrands is there in case of injuries and for when we haven’t got any better ideas, haha…. he does have a knack of scoring but it’s not like he puts away a high % of his chances – at least it seems that way, seems that he misses plenty before he puts one away

    His general footballing contribution to the side is minimal at this point in his career. Although no slouch now, he’s lost the searing pace of his youth and his biggest flaw for me is his propensity to give away possession (note to Pardew – if we’re defending a lead, don’t bring Loven on!)

    Still, he does score goals at a reasonable rate for a 4th option forward

      (Quote)

  10. Personally I think he is too weak to be a Premier League forward although I do think that he is the most intelligent runner we have in our striking ranks. Ba may take that mantle but it’s still early days for him IMO.

      (Quote)

  11. Hmm, that didn’t sound right. If he is an intelligent runner then weakness shouldn’t matter so much. I’m sure you know what I mean though 😆

    As for Marveaux, he’s impressed me each time I’ve seen him. He just looks so comfortable with the ball at his feet

      (Quote)

  12. Marveaux needs his chance to start! I rate Obertan as well, but let him be the impact sub for a change. Marv on the right and Jonas on the left v Spurs….

      (Quote)

  13. “He literally just scores and that is it or does nothing and that is it.”

    Are we discussing Lovenkrands – or Nolan ………..? …. or am I being unkind to our former skipper whose leaving was going to destroy our club?

      (Quote)

  14. Susan, I was thinking against Spurs it may be an idea to change from a flat 4-4-2 formation to a 4-5-1, allowing Tiote and Cabeye to drop deep and coverthe defence against a deadly Spurs midfield and letting our wingers cause havoc with an advanced central midfielder. With Ben Arfa missing an opportunity to get a bit of match sharpness against Bolton the other day, do you think Marv could do a job in his position?

    I reckon with the pace of Guti and Obertan on the flanks, Cabeye’s eye for a perfect pass, Marv’s technical ability and Ba’s supreme talent for finishing from any angle – that could be a deadly combination against Spurs…

      (Quote)

  15. Tony – No that’s spot on imo. The only difference was the leadership qualities Nolan had, but to be fair the squad are fighting for each other just as much if not more so now that Nolan & Barton are gone!

      (Quote)

  16. Just been reading this about Harper

    http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/newcastle-united/nufc-news/2011/10/06/steve-harper-still-committed-to-nufc-s-cause-72703-29547662/2/

    I still rate him, but who could drop Krul right now and why would anybody want to? Think Harper will be great backup again and will do a job when needed. But get it sorted now, offer him a player coach role for this season and next then full time coach. Been at the club so long and knows his stuff, be mad to lose him from the background

      (Quote)

  17. Tony Toon – True. Like Shamrock says though, Nolan had a gob on him which is the difference for me. Not a huge one but still 😆

      (Quote)

  18. Simon – Sorry about your post disappearing briefly. It’s because the automatic spam thingy think the Chronicle is spam so cuts any links to it. In fairness the program is not wrong essentially 😆

      (Quote)

  19. Toonsy no probs, but got to agree there, think it has it spot on, Chron is mostly spam ha ha! Mind you, not much else worth reading.

      (Quote)

  20. Shamrock yeah, I like your idea… Obertan, Marveaux, Jonas with Cabaye behind and Ba up front (I would put Jonas in the middle, if it wasn’t for the help he’s giving Raylor)

    Would really like to see Ben Arfa come on at some point against Spurs as well….. but also want Marveaux to play a full game, so not sure how I would work that… decisions decisions!

      (Quote)

  21. nice work Shamrock. Was this your first article?

    I was gonna suggest the other week that you should write an article for this site but didnt know how things worked with authors so I kept my gob shut.

    Ive always enjoyed the way you write with your level-headed comments.

    Good to see you writing for this site, well done dude..

      (Quote)

  22. Yes it will be interesting to see how Pardew sets us out. I now what people are saying about tinkering with a winning side, but all the successful teams do it. You cant pull the same trick out of the bag every game and expect the opposition not to figure you out at some stage….Wolves almost did and i’m certain Spurs will if we stick to 4-4-2…

      (Quote)

  23. Thankyou Mark, I appreciate the comment 😀 This is my second actually. Toonsy has taken quite a bit of time out to show me the ropes so it’s nice to be able to give something back…

    The first article was the piece on Danny Guthrie the other day – I’ll be doing a series focusing on our fringe players. There is another one of those coming out tomorrow probably….

      (Quote)

  24. mark
    October 6, 2011 at 13:18

    “I was gonna suggest the other week that you should write an article for this site but didnt know how things worked with authors so I kept my gob shut.”

    Anyone can have a bash if they want to. Some people try it and don’t like it while others take to it and enjoy it and carry on. You never know unless you try it out 😉

    I’ve always been one to publish articles that others send in/allow people to write. The way I see is that everyone has an opinion and who am I to stop it from being aired? We’re NUFC fans after all.

      (Quote)

  25. @Shamrock, ne bother m8.

    Nice to see you onboard. will look forward to more 🙂

    Whats happened to MarkToon’s away-day write-ups and Jobeys interviews with the reserve players? I enjoy reading both of their reports, it’s what makes this site different from the rest.

      (Quote)

  26. @toonsy. ne bother m8, nice to know – I thought the authors were your mates or something.

    I’ll leave it to you lads, I struggle with the bairns phonics homework 😆

      (Quote)

  27. shearer ameobi bellamy lua lua kluivert
    shearer asprilla ferdinand
    shearer owen viduka martins carroll ameobi
    best ba lovenkrands ameobi
    shearer ferguson ameobi bellamy
    carroll lovenkrands ameobi harewood ranger

    just tring to work out our best strikeforce group in past ten years

    on paper its the one that took us down

      (Quote)

  28. @MarkToon. ok m8, i’ll take a butchers now. just got in from graft and picked the newest article.

    cheers m8

      (Quote)

  29. mark
    October 6, 2011 at 13:33

    “@toonsy. ne bother m8, nice to know – I thought the authors were your mates or something.”

    Marktoon would be but he remains an acquaintance until he learns to put his hand in his pocket and buy a round 😛

    Tighter than a ducks **** that boy is 😆

      (Quote)

  30. Shamrock, I agree… you can say don’t tinker with a winning side, but sooner or later you will get sussed if you play the same tricks every time. And as for the ‘fairness’ of taking someone out of a winning side….. you could just as easily say that two wingers came in to the team and only one has had a real chance yet, that’s not fair either!

    Don’t want to see Marveaux in your fringe player articles I’m afraid, cos I just don’t see him that way 😀
    (great idea for a series though!)

      (Quote)

  31. @38 – that’s a good point. On paper it looks great. In truth Owen had no passion for us, Martins was hit & miss, Carroll was too young and Ameobi was….wel…. Ameobi! WasSheare still playing in our relegation season? I thought he had retired a while before that…

      (Quote)

  32. Susan re: Marveaux – I was umming and aaring about that myself, however until he is regarded as a regular starter then the fringe is where he is at. That said, I’m going to be covering a few others before I get to him so by then things could well have changed… 🙂

      (Quote)

  33. Dub – Big mistake him taking the job when he did. No experiece and a squad that was not playing for each other or the fans. A poisoned chalice that was just too sparkly for him to ignore…

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *