It’s easy to look at this game, look at the form tables and predict another three points along with a rise to 2nd in the League for this game.
However, despite losing five of their last six fixtures, Everton had to endure matches against the two Manchester sides, Liverpool and Chelsea, so maybe they can be forgiven. They are traditionally a very tough nut to crack and despite our excellent start to the season, we can expect them to put up a hell of a fight.
Newcastle United:
Having already lost Mike Williamson (ankle) and Shola Ameobi (hamstring) to long term injuries, we can now add Gabriel Obertan (toe infection) to the list for the next three weeks or so. Cheik Tiote is touch and go as he tries to overcome a knee complaint, so Danny Guthrie will be on standby following assured performances against Blackburn and Stoke.
An outside possibility should Tiote not make it would be Mehdi Abeid, touted by Pardew as Cheik’s replacement for the African Cup of Nations. He has been playing well for the reserves of late and scored a lovely curling shot in the midweek 2-0 win against Wigan. Hopefully Rob Elliot and Tim Krul will remain fit as we have no goalkeeper cover now that Ole Soderburg has gone out to Chesterfield on an emergency loan.
Everton:
Key player Marouane Fellaini misses out following an accumulation of five yellow cards this season. Great news for us as he shares many similarities with Tiote and likes to put himself about (no not in that way, I don’t think?). Royston Drenthe is back from suspension and is likely to be included in the starting line up should David Moyes decide not to give the nod to Seamus Coleman instead. Tim Cahill, Sylvain Distin and Phil Neville are all likely to be declared fit following minor knocks.
Tactical thoughts:
Following a rigid display at tough away venue the Britannia Stadium on Monday night, Newcastle are likely to return to a more free flowing short passing game to suit the home game environment. So far this season Alan Pardew has stuck with the mantra of “don’t fix what aint broke’ and I cant see him risking unsettling the team shape by doing that now, so a 4-4-2 is likely with a straight swap on the wing seeing Sylvain Marveaux come in for the injured Obertan.
Cheik Tiote will probably make the match, in which case I can see him sticking even more rigidly to his defensive midfielder job than usual. This is because Everton generally play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 formation that is based on dominating the middle of the park and pressing opposition sides high up the pitch. In Saha, they have a very effective finisher who on his day is extremely mobile and difficult to track.
By playing two defensive midfielders of their own, Everton ensure there is no space for creative players like Yohan Cabaye to find that neat pass through the middle. They play with high intensity, allowing Tim Cahill to roam free between midfield and attack and latch onto crosses out of nowhere. Out of all Everton’s matches so far this season, they have spent 26% of them camped up in the opposition’s final 3rd. If they are allowed to do that to us, our defenders will really get put to the test with Drenthe bombing down the right and Leon Osman drifting inside whilst Leighton Baines fires in the crosses.
The way to combat this is simple, make sure we press high ourselves and don’t let Everton overpower us. It will mean Marveaux (if he plays) ensuring he attacks Leighton Baines down the wing and not be tempted to drift inside as often as he would like to. This would allow Baines the space to run into and attack our flank which cannot happen, as his crosses for Cahill will be dangerous.
85% of Everton’s conceded goals this season have come from their right flank. Tony Hibbert is not the most mobile of full backs and should be targetted. Royston Drenthe is not exactly defensive minded, so Jonas Gutierrez could have real joy down the left provided he is supported by one of our two strikers drifting out and interchanging with him. Tiote will need to only come forward when absolutely safe to do so.
With Everton looking to press us themselves, everytime we do so they will be like a coiled spring and will break with great speed given half a chance. With Tiote sitting back even more so than usual, we will be afforded that extra protection should Everton try to drown us with their superior midfield numbers. He can also support Ryan Taylor and Danny Simpson whilst our wide men are making their way back from attacks of their own.
We will need Cabaye to be clever for this one. He will not get a seconds peace in the middle of the park and could easily get frustrated by it. He needs to keep a calm head and just bide his time for those killer balls he can thread through to the wingers or even through the middle to Ba should Best have any luck dropping back and dragging their defensive midfielders out of position.
The order of the day will again be very hard work, but we will need that bit of creativity if we are going to break Everton down. A tough result to call…
A word from Alan Pardew on the game:
“We are coming up against a very good established Premier League side in Everton, with a great manager and good players, and you have to respect every team in this division. And that is what we will do for the next game. We are playing with confidence and have got a decent side. How good it is, we don’t know, but we are just going from game to game at the moment. Expectation levels are not rising or going through the roof. Everybody has their feet on the ground and we are just hoping to keep it going.”
Facts and Stats:
Newcastle have played Everton at home 17 times in the Premier League, winning 10 and losing 3.
A brace from Nolberto Solano and a rare goal from Carl Cort saw us run out 6-2 winners in this fixture in 2002.
If Newcastle win, they move up to 2nd in the Premier League as Manchester United kick off later.
Only Demba Ba and Wayne Rooney have two hat-tricks so far in this Premiership season.
Ba has a higher goals to shots ratio than any of the Leagues top five scorers with a 47% success rate. Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero are the next closest with 35%.
Yohan Cabaye is top of our assists chart with three. Everton’s is Royston Drenthe (3), who has mainly played from the bench.
Cabaye is the 3rd top tackler in League with a success rate of 64%.
This is the first time Newcastle have begun a season unbeaten for 10 games or more since the 1995 season. You will have to go back to the 50’s to find the only occasion we have done it before then, with the record being 11 games – something the boys can equal if they get at least a draw against the Toffees.
Referee:
Meet Andre Mariner. Born in the West Midlands, he should hopefully not be fussed either way about the result of this game. He was made a member of the Select Group of Referees in 2005 and joined the International list of Referees in 2009. He is pretty level headed and fair with the players, tending to only get his cards out two to three times per game – he prefers to let games flow.
Generally we do not have much luck with Andre. Out of the 10 games he has officiated for us, we have only managed three wins. That said, one of those was our 1-0 success over Everton at Goodison Park last season.
So there you have it ladies and gents. This will be a tough contest, but we have momentum on our side and over 50,000 fanatical followers expected to pack out the stadium and be that 12th man for our boys.
Hopefully Toonsy and the rest of the Black & White Army will be in good voice! At the time of writing this article, tickets were still available although there are very limited numbers left and it’s only really single tickets that remain. For those that cant make it, the game will be shown on Sky Sports.
Newcastle United v Everton
Venue: St. James’ Park
Kick Off: 12:45 pm
Howay the lads!
Great preview shamrock. I hope they play jonas on whatever side drenthe plays. I remember watching him in the u21 championships a few years ago before he went to real and he’s always had huge talent, and seems to have matured since then. Would’ve been nice if himself and cahill were still out 😕 ah well
Dubtoon(Quote)
Very detailed preview Shamrock! I agree with a lot of what you’ve said but really I think it’s time to introduce HBA into the team. Whether that’s on the right where he was absolutely brilliant in his last game for France or instead of Best. I’d try him out right and if it doesn’t work move him inside and bring on Marv for Best.
georgio(Quote)
Great preview mate 🙂
I agree it’s going to be tough. If you look at their results against sides that aren’t the so called “big boys” then they;ve not been bad at all. A tough test for sure, but by that same token we won’t be an easy test for them 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Never an easy game a draw wouldnt be a bad thing at all
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
Good thread Shamrock. If we can score first they’ll have to open up a bit and that’s when we can really get at them. I still think they are a decent team but for me the players that have made Everton a force over the last few seasons were Cahill, Arteta and Fellaini, Arteta’s gone, “hair bear bunch” won’t be playing and Cahill just doesn’t seem to be the player he was so far this season so with that , it’ll be tough but I still think we’ll win by 2 clear goals(at least 😉 ).
richietoon(Quote)
Cannot wait its going to be very nice to have a chance to go 2nd but as is the case which pretty much every game this season i am worried! 😆
Liam Southern Toon(Quote)
1-1 Cabaye with first goal.
Stuart79(Quote)
i reckon everton will get slaughted at sjp
hitman(Quote)
Shamrock – Where do you dig these stats from?
toonsy(Quote)
Obertan has hit top speed for Newcastle this season, registering 26.74 mph over 10 metres against Wigan.
Leon Best is hot on Obertan’s heels and registered 26.72 mph against Stoke 😯 😯 😯 😯 😯
richietoon(Quote)
Good preview Shamrock. Everton are a good side, lets not forget how easily they outplayed us last year and how Arfa’s wonder goal won us what was a very even affair at Goodison. Another win would be great, we really need Tiote back for this fixture, and it will be interesting to see if Marv will track back as much as Oby
Newkie(Quote)
I hope that you are right Hitman but being the eternal pessimist I feel that this will be a tight game won by the odd goal.
A lot of their service will come from Baines from dead ball situations, Tiote will have to keep his head in our half to limit this.
I do like the movement of our font two and if Best can hold it up to play in Marveaux (if selected) it should help him settle in. I feel the French winger will be cutting inside to his favoured left more than taking Baines to the byline in any case. This should not make too much difference to the dynamics of the team as Obertan does this more often than not at home. A predictable guess at 2-1 to the toon winning with a late goal.
miles.stjames(Quote)
Cheers guys. I really cant call this one, any result could happen! Either way it should make for a good watch…
Toonsy I take snippets from probably 6 to 8 different sites mate, just a case of taking what I need to fit my opinion… I’ll e-mail you 😉
Shamrock(Quote)
Great preview, Shamrock!
Agree that we’ll see Marv come on. Will be curious to see if Guthrie plays, I think he could be prolific in a home game against the toffees. Very excited
AndrewT(Quote)
Rich – That’s almost as fast as Ice’s scooter 😀
I said about seeing if he was out for a drink pre-match yesterday. The offer still stands as long as he doesn’t bring his shopping trolley:D
toonsy(Quote)
TOONSY below the belt day eh,mmmmmmmmmmmmmm 😉
icedog(Quote)
Excellent article Shamrock. Really appreciate the effort put in 😉
I see Lawrenson has predicted us to lose, AGAIN. 😳
This is what the snivelling tw@t has to say:
“Newcastle just keep on going, and they passed a real test of their aerial defensive capabilities by beating Stoke on Monday. I was really impressed by how hard their midfield worked too, let alone their defenders.
But the Magpies’ great start to the season has just built up the pressure. They will be expected to beat Everton but cast your mind back to when they played Wigan at St James’ Park on 22 October. Everyone expected them to run the Latics over but, in the end, Roberto Martinez’s side were unlucky not to get a point.
The Toffees have not had great results of late but have played better than a run of five defeats in six games suggests, and I am backing them to sneak a win here because I think the big problem for Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is stopping his team from thinking they just need to turn up to get the three points.
Football has a nasty habit of biting you on the backside just when you think you have cracked it, so Pardew and his players have to be careful. But, even if they are beaten on Saturday, it has been an exceptional start to the season and they are in a fantastic position ahead of their games with Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea later this month.”
eye ate im 👿
hope the Lads prove him wrong n all. AGAIN.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Ice – Was checking you’re still keeping an eye on things 😉
toonsy(Quote)
BB – if all of Lawro’s predictions had come true we’d have 10 points by now and be sitting just above the relegation positions, which is where most of the so called experts said we’d be at the start of the season.
Toon Chicken(Quote)
TOONSY i miss nowt m8,theres baddies all owr 😀 even keep eye on other sites in case they have a go 😉 😉
icedog(Quote)
TC @19 he has always dis-liked the toon ever since he came in as defence coach and got his **** kicked oot as he wasnt up to it,enough said mate
icedog(Quote)
Could be some freak results over the weekend lol
Toon 2-1 Everton
fulham v spuds draw
Chelsea v B’*** draw
qpr v man shitty cricket score ??
liv’pool v swansea draw
manure 6 -0 scum 😆
That would secure our 3rd place quite nicely.
Howay the Mags
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Ice – I know mate.
I always think that if these pundits actually knew what they were talking about they’d be being paid top dollar by a club to put their patter into action.
As the saying goes… those who can, do – those who can’t, talk ***** on the telly 😉
Toon Chicken(Quote)
Again great read Shamrock you sure do your homework. Close call im saying 2-1 toon buthoping for our first 6-0 of the season 😀
N.Irish Toon(Quote)
Shamrock that was a great preview! Thanks for all the details. Really presented a clear assessment of the situation.
Methinks that a Toon victory makes the most sense, but footie divnt always make sense, does it lol?
I’m worried that Gabby is out cos he would be a terror for Baines to deal with, but Marv will have to do. I just hope he tracks back enough…
OHurley(Quote)
Could some one watch this video and tell me what is the highest p you can watch it at please.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn3QAM8nVSw
N.Irish Toon(Quote)
•Everton have not kept a clean sheet in nine league and cup matches. Their only shut-out this season came in a 1-0 win at Blackburn, who missed two penalties.
•The Toffees have suffered defeat in five of their last six matches in all competitions.
•They have lost five of six league games this season when they conceded the opening goal.
•According to Opta, Everton have the best tackle success rate in the Premier League this season (81.5%).
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – them stats are skewed slightly by the fact that 5 of their last 6 opponents have been Manure, ManShitty, Liverpoop and Chelsarse (twice)
(I realise Chelsarse is a poor attempt but I there was a theme emerging so I thought I’d carry on)
Toon Chicken(Quote)
TC – Aye but it will have an effect on confidence. If you’re on a losing run it’s hard to break it. Although having said that it’s set up for the worst form team to beat the best form team. 🙁
Stuart79(Quote)
O hurley
Nice to see you’re still following the Toon and practising the geordie on us. How on earth did a guy from the midwest get into following the Toon. When I lived in the US they not only hadn’t heard about Newcastle, they didn’t know football existed!
georgio(Quote)
Toonsy moonlighting again 😉
http://www.bluekipper.com/match/2011-2012/196-skunks_vs_everton/away/awayteam.html
richietoon(Quote)
ha ha.. just read toonsy’s interview on everyon site – bluekipper. 😆
i need an autograph! 😉
nobby(Quote)
everton… not everyon.. what a moron i am. 😳
nobby(Quote)
Georgio-
I’m from the southeast, mate 😉 And I found this sport in 2006 during the world cup. I was drinking pints in a local pub with a few mates and France was playin on the tele. For some reason, I saw how the sport worked and it just made sense. From then on, I’ve been a fair bit of obsessed! It came time to choose a club to support and I always knew it’d be an English side. I thought long and hard, researched every club in the country, and when I found the Toon, it all made sense like. Here’s a club that’s like the perennial underdogs with a legion of absolutely mental fans who display an unbelievable amount of passion for their beloved club. I was simply captivated and have been loyal to the black n white ever since. Hell, I even learned Blaydon Races on the guitar. I’m probably the only one in the entire state of Tennessee who knows all the words haha! And aye- ah like to practise me Geordie, man! One dee ah’ll make the pilgrimage to SJP ya kna, n ah want to be able to understand wot all you’s mental Geordies are sayin like
OHurley(Quote)
RICHIE cheers for that,you cannot watch him m8,like horse **** pops up all owr 😉
icedog(Quote)
Ice Doggy Dogg,
Wots the craic, mate? You planned your Nashville getaway yet? 😀
OHurley(Quote)
I think it’s safe to say Wayne Rooney won’t be following in Eric Cantona’s footsteps when he takes of his boots for the last time…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6MkmonoaSw&feature=player_embedded
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Toon Chicken(Quote)
OHURLEY not yet mate,going to my last match with son as he moves to live in Malta in a couple of weeks,hes got job in a bank there told him i would come and tidy his work place up for him but he wont be on 🙁 but i might find some time to myself when hes gone 😀
icedog(Quote)
O hurley,
Tennessee? Near Nashville? Never been meself, nearest I got was Colorado. However, that’s quite a story. Any local teams we should keep an eye on?
By the way you might try this – I wish I was a Geordie, http://www.newcastleunited.us
georgio(Quote)