Manchester United V Newcastle United – Premier League match preview

Old Trafford
12th February 1972. The great Joe Harvey led his Toon charges out at Old Trafford against a Red Devils side sporting a front line of Dennis Law and George Best. Our defence held firm and registered an assuring 2-0 win.

Nearly 40 years later we are still looking for that next league victory in their back yard. We did the double over them that year as well!

If we could do it against the above front line there is no reason we can’t do the same this weekend against the current Manchester United strikeforce of Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney. It’ll be a tough ask, but despite the lingering doubts about Danny Simpson and Ryan Taylor, our defence is arguably looking better than at any point in the last 20 plus years.

Manchester United:

Anderson (knee) is a long term write off. Tom Cleverley (ankle) is still a month away following his injury against Everton last month. Michael Owen (thigh) will not be back until the New Year. Wayne Rooney (hip), Danny Wellbeck (fatigue) and Darron Gibson (ankle) are all expected to be fit and included in the match day squad. Nemanja Vidic is available. It seems to me that every time Ferguson leaves Rooney out for a game, he pulls the ‘he’s injured’ line in some sort of effort to throw off the next opponent. We were never going to fall for that!

Squad: De Gea, Lindegaard, Rafael, Smalling, Fabio, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Nani, Valencia, Gibson, Carrick, Fletcher, Park, Giggs, Young, Rooney, Hernandez, Berbatov.

Newcastle United:

Nile Ranger (boo!) and James Tavernier are out on loan. Mike Williamson (ankle) has been out since the end of August and we still don’t have a clue when he is due back. Sylvain Marveaux (groin) is out for the long haul. Danny Guthrie has a slight knock and is touch and go. Leon Best (groin) and Gabriel Obertan (toe) are both looking like making the squad, whilst Cheik Tiote (knee) is at least another week from returning. Hmm….

Squad: Krul, Elliot, Simpson, R Taylor, Santon, Ferguson, Coloccini, S Taylor, Perch, Cabaye, Gutierrez, Gosling, Guthrie, Obertan, Ben Arfa, Abeid, Vuckic, Smith, Ba, Shola Ameobi, Lovenkrands, Sammy Ameobi.

Shamrock’s top 10 really interesting facts and figures:

1. Newcastle have amassed only 6 points out of a possible 51 from each of our 17 visits to Old Trafford since the Premier League was formed.

2. In our relegation season we actually drew 1-1 in this fixture.

3. Wayne Rooney and Demba Ba both have two league hat tricks so far this term.

4. Ashley Young has five assists. He is as dangerous to us as Rooney.

5. Javier Hernandez likes to move early and spring a surprise, but it has seen him caught offside on more occasions than anybody else this season, overstepping the line 21 times.

6. The Magpies have failed to score at Old Trafford in five of their last seven outings.

7. Wayne Rooney will be looking for his 160th goal for his club. He will also be after his 10th goal in 13 games against us in Man Utd’s colours.

8. If Shola Ameobi plays he will be looking to score his 50th league goal.

9. Steven Taylor made 4 blocks against Man City last week. Only Vincent Kompany (5) has made more in any one single match this season.

10) Man Utd and Newcastle Utd have both lost only 1 league game in 15. Those losses were both to Man City.

Team selection and tactical thoughts:

So the red side of Manchester scrape through a few games and the pundits call it ‘winning ugly like true Champions’. We do the same and the pundits say we are ‘riding our luck’ and ‘the run will come crashing down soon’. To begin with I thought it was biased rubbish spouted by morons. However we have to appreciate that Man Utd are thoroughbred winners and whilst we have an impressive ‘never-say-die’ attitude, the Red Devils have the winning mentality, skill, experience and subconscious knack of being masters of pulling a result out of the bag. It’s ingrained in their psyche and they have done it time and time again for as far back as I can remember. No matter how encouraged we are by our side’s impressive start to the season, Sir Alex’s men will be an extremely tough nut to crack as always.

For all the flack David De Gea has received during his debut season as Man Utd #1, he has made 45 saves this season. That is only 1 less than the Premiership’s top dog Brad Friedel. However, in terms of saves to shots their Spanish stopper is the league’s best with 79%. He is an exceptional ‘keeper and if we are going to put one or two past him we will need to test him consistently throughout the game. Relying on our defence to hold firm without the assistance of our very own behemoth Cheik Tiote and expecting a rare counter attacking strike to be fumbled by De Gea is just not going to cut it.

The only way we are going to get something from this game is to play proper football. Keep our shape and discipline defensively by all means, but give our attacking players like Benny the freedom they yearn for and we might just have ‘Arfa chance. (Sorry about that). Hatem Ben Arfa is now almost back to full match fitness and he showed a few very good touches and hints of old self against City last week as demonstrated in Toonsy’s article. Let’s not underestimate the huge psychological boost that game will have given Benny for obvious reasons following his leg break in the same fixture previously.

If we let Man Utd press us into our own third regularly, Hernandez will destroy us. He is a master of losing his man in the box and has the uncanny ability of being able to turn his head around 180 degrees in order to head a shot into the back of the net with power despite his body actually facing away from goal! Just ask Stoke. No doubt Rooney will be dropping deep and drawing us out. When this happens we have to be especially aware of Nani, Young and Hernandez using lightning pace to exploit the gaps. Both Nani and Young and can cross and shoot from distance. They have two good feet each and will be just as comfortable hugging the byline as cutting inside. Our full backs will have to be 100% focused for 100% of the game in order to nullify these two.

Now then. Rooney dropping deep… We need somebody to get stuck in to him (in a legal way). Harass him, get in his face, don’t give him space and tackle robustly when not in a dangerous area. Steve Taylor and Coloccini need to keep their shape and direct the defence around them, they need to ensure they do not get drawn out and have to be immovable brick walls. That means we need a midfielder to do the above job. With Tiote out, I just don’t feel Guthrie has the conviction to destroy what little there is of Rooney’s cool, calm temperament so who can do the job?

Dan Gosling I feel is more of an industrious attacking player. That leaves Yohan Cabaye. He can do all of the above and I believe he would be excellent in this role for the day. He seems very calm and calculated and if Alan Pardew gives him these instructions with a game plan in mind I for one am confident that our French find of the decade will put Rooney off his game. Maybe even draw him into getting sent off for some foul mouthed tirade at the referee borne out of frustration?

Whilst we are in possession Cabaye will be able to ping the ball about from the deep positions to the likes of Ben Arfa and our wingers sat waiting further up the pitch. I said against Citeh we need to get players forward and press them deep in their own half every time we win the ball. In the 1st half we failed to do this and paid for it, however the boys did so in the 2nd half and looked far better for it. They have the technical ability and just need the confidence to do this against the established elite. If they do I reckon we will pull off the odd surprise three pointer against such sides. Our wingers have real pace and with Cabaye’s passing ability coupled with Ben Arfa’s creative spark, we definitely have the tools needed to find a way through against absolutely anybody.

With Fletcher, Giggs and Carrick being their options in the middle it is fair to say they don’t really have a midfield general with some serious bite. That could work to our advantage if we go narrow whilst attacking.

If Ferdinand is selected, we should try to exploit him for pace. He can be caught out as his legs are going. However he is still very good positioning wise and I don’t fancy us winning many headers from crosses in the box with Vidic now back in the squad and possibly the ever impressive all rounder Phil Jones bossing it across the back four. If Benny plays, Best probably wont (he’s a doubt anyway) so we will be lacking in the air. Our wingers should be looking to use their speed to lose players out wide and cut inside. From there we could get some nice 1-2’s going and get the ball into the box along the ground at pace. I feel we will get more shots on target with this approach.

Ryan Taylor was shown up by a better standard of player last week. That may have destroyed his confidence a bit and it could be a risk playing him against Man Utd, especially as I would rather see Gutierrez used as an attacking force for this game instead of covering the full back all the time. It could be said that playing an untested foreigner, albeit a quality one in a game like this in the full back position could be dangerous. I feel not giving Santon a shot when his competition messes up is unjust and sends out the wrong message. Santon should start at left back with a bit of luck and will get the opportunity to test himself in the best league in the world, against one of the best wingers in the world. If he plays well his confidence will be sky high and we could then be rest assured we have depth in that position. Give him a go Pardew, lets see what he’s made of!

Referee:

43-year-old Cheshire based referee Mike Jones is the man in black for this one. Lets hope he is not too pally with the many Man Utd players that also live in that particular part of the country. He has been a pro for 14 years and in the Select Group since 2008.

He is generally regarded as a bit dodgy and prone to make mistakes. He does not seem to get given any of the big games and I am genuinely worried about having him in charge of this one. With the pressure Sir Alex put on referee’s combined with where this Ref lives, I worry about where the key decisions are going to go…

As far I can tell, he has been in charge of us four times in the Premier League. We have not gained a single point. Man Utd have won five and drawn one of the six games he has officiated for them. That said, he is rumoured to be a Liverpool fan so hopefully my paranoia is just that!

A word from Yohan Cabaye:

“We want to win against Manchester United. I think we can. We will be playing for a win on Saturday, This is a big game at a big stadium, but it’s good for us. This week we have a tough game against Man United and then Chelsea at home. They are two good games, but two tough games. We can test what we are made of and what we can do. We must see what we can do against the league’s big teams.

“It’s been a very good start here. I am happy with that and I want to keep winning. It’s important for everybody here we do that. We want to stay at the top of the Premier League and get back to winning a lot of matches. The team spirit is still very good here.”

So there we have it. This game will be all about confidence and not being afraid to have a go. Cabaye epitomises that and hopefully his confidence will exude to the rest of the team.

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday 26th November 2011
Kick Off: 15:00
Referee: Mike Jones

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!

54 thoughts on “Manchester United V Newcastle United – Premier League match preview

  1. Nice article, and fingers crossed.

    To get anything today we will certainly need some luck as they are a side with quality all over the pitch. I don’t expect anything, but our 40 year winless run has to end sometime and it could be today. But I think we are just as likely to get thrashed if the real Man U turn up and we aren’t at our absolute best.

    HWTL.

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  2. Fingers crossed!
    Good solid article.
    If Benny has a good day today, i expect we Can pull a draw.. But it is important that Colo, Cabaye, and Ba are on top of their game!

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  3. I expect nothing today, although I do expect us to give it a go which is a change in itself.

    in years gone by I’d hope we’d have a go but now I know we will which os mice and makes losing that little bit easier to take.

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  4. Great preview Shamrock, it’s gonna be tough but who knows a sneaky draw maybe on the cards :mrgreen:

    8. If Shola Ameobi plays he will be looking to…… overtake Hernandez in the offside stats 😉

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  5. Rich – Was going to put that myself :mrgreen:

    Leon Best could also be used in that stat.

    Was having a think about Leon Best earlier. Miles and miles of early morning motorway miles can do that 😆

    Basically its about our front line. To me if Ben Arfa plays he has to be with Ba. I don’t rate Best’s reading of the game at in truth and that is one thing you need with Benny in the team

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  6. Toonsy 😉 …. agree with that, I don’t think Best’s speed of thought is quick enough to play with Benny, I think is at his most effective in a 442 with Ba. Then again if I had a clue what I’m talking about I’d be a manager 😆

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  7. Johno – Just been on twitter and still not seen owt 😆

    Perhaps Pardew saw something when Perch played that defence splitting pass last weekend? 😆

    On a serious note, the guy hasn’t cocked up for ages now 😕

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  8. Hate to see a change to the defence, two would be suicidal.

    Good article Shamrock, better than even Leazes Terrace.

    Don’t expect owt at all to be honest, but a clean sheet is the best I can hope for. Then with anothe Ba hat-trick we should just survive.

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  9. Good preview Shamrock :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

    I’m not expecting anything today apart from a good performance from the lads in black n white 😛

    Tell you what is nice though to hear all the positive vibes around at the mo and long may it continue 😀

    Lets give Mr Lowery nil points on his predication’s ❗

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  10. It was that knob cwarr. He re tweeted some journo saying Al Shearer was on live 5 saying we could have some trouble at center half. Then tweeted himself saying perch is playing. As i said rumor!

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  11. A bit off subject like, but is anyone else getting pleasure out of the way that Chelsea are floundering at the moment ? They have hoyed so much money around, and are gonna end up winning absolutely nowt this season. 👿

    I know they are a club in transition, but I still like it. They’ve also been financially out-Chelsea’d by the Sheiks at Manchester. 👿 👿

    Howay the lads…. 1-1 at Old Trafford, that’ll do nicely…

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  12. My advice for today to all toon fans everywhere….. 😉

    We should bask in the glory of being in the top 6, and enjoy the build up to the big game today at Old Trafford. To go into todays game even thinking that we can get something from the game, is a sensation in itself, and only goes to show how far we have come in the last 12 months.

    We all know from experience that the toon can let us down big time, hopefully today isn’t one of those days.

    Howay the lads, give it your best shot, 100% commitment is a minimum. If we lose to the better team all well and done, a high scoring defeat we don’t need, and there have been a few of those against Man U in recent years…

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  13. Munich…My German isn’t great anyway but trying to remember it after not speaking for 14 years when we went for a long weekend last year was hell…….tended to come flooding back after a few weissbiers tho 😀

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  14. Richietoon….Wießbiers are good for most languages mukka….they’ll help with your Spanish too mate, give it a go… !!!

    Hitman@25….I’ve had a litre of coffee this morning, you obviously bettered me there mate !!…. 😆 😆 …howay….let’s get mukked into them !!

    Me spines tingling today already, and there’s still hours to k.o…., it feels a bit like a makkem derby day……..howay….

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  15. what time do we normally name the squads?? Tiote, Guthrie and Colo are rumored to be injured by newspapers BUT they normally announce them on the nufc.co.uk site by now if they’re def out… nothing yet!! 😕

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  16. We’ll get at least a point imo but it won’t be from lack of effort if we don’t and that’s all we can ask for 😛

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  17. I also have issues with the ref. Why was the referee changed from Phil Dowd? No reason given. I don’t trust the FA.

    And let me just say this: I’ve just got in from watching Brisbane Roar win 4-0 and claim the record for the longest unbeaten run by any football team of any code in Australia – 36. Brilliant.

    A win or a draw against ManU would make it a weekend to remember.

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  18. Bris – Dowd is “ill” apparently. Rumour has it the FA invited who I would call one of the fairer referees to their HQ for dinner. And now he is ill 😉 😯

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  19. Apparently the news I’ve just heard was that Dowd was attacked at his home and threatened with a baseball bat by a gang of thugs.
    When asked if the thugs had taken anything, Dowd replied.”no, but they left me a message and it was a riddle”.
    When he was asked what the message was, Dowd replied,” they said , when is a Ref not a Ref.

    A specialist decoder of riddles team was brought in to try and make sense of the riddle and one of the decoders ,called Robin said,” holy cow Batman, I think it means don’t Referee the game or you will never Ref again on legs”…Batman agreed and they both jumped into the bat mobile and sped to old Trafford to interrogate Alex Ferguson ….Alex said,” I know nothing about this and it’s news to me”.

    Upon being told that the new Ref being brought in lives next door to him and regularly does odd jobs for the family, Sir Alex said” Wow, just wow, how weird”.

    When the new Ref was asked if he would Ref the game as 100% fair, he then went on to say, “I wish conspiracy theorists would stop with this petty finger pointing , just because I have dinner at Sir Alex’s family and do odd jobs for them and do their shopping, plus take their dogs out as well as cleaning their windows regular, doesn’t mean I am not a fair Ref.

    Ah well he seems plausable enough, I can stop fretting now. 😆

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  20. Great preview.

    I don’t expect anything, but i’m sure at least we will give it a go. Which is a nice change in its self.

    Maybe a sneaky draw and a Ferguson clutcher is al we can pray for.

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  21. The positive vibe i’ve been feeling all week are slowly evaporating.. first with the news that Tiote isn’t fit, then that Rooney is, and now Colo is doubtful?? We’ll get SMASHED with Perch at CB 🙁

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  22. Archie, Perch has never let us down when called upon to play at centre back.
    Perch gets some unfair stick to be honest.
    We know he’s no world class player but you get 100% off him and it’s mistakes that get scrutinized no matter how trivial.
    Yes he’s a bit rash but that’s because his enthusiasm takes over and his will to battle is full on.
    Obviously it’s not ideal but we have to go with what we have and I personally don’t think he will let us down if indeed he does play.

    Pardew isn’t stupid and although he knows it’s a blow not to have his strongest line up, he will have done his homework, you can bet on that.

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  23. Don’t you just love twitter 😆

    @SurfinSuxSoDont Erik A.
    sometimes I think the only thing worse than a Mackem is an American Man U fan #NUFC #FUCKMAN UNITED
    9 minutes ago

    @NUFC_US Wish I Was A Geordie
    Man U morning in America. There’ll be enough plastic in the pub to start a Tupperware factory. #NUFC
    14 minutes ago

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  24. Nice one Shamrock.

    …here’s hoping today isn’t the day we concede our 500th away goal in the Premier League! More to the point, our 500th, 501st, 502nd and 503rd. I was 1 when we last won there. Let’s make some history here, it’s been too long a wait!

    HTL!!!!

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  25. @46 cheeky fker 😛
    …you’ll be fawaty before you know it youngun! Your next 10 years will seem like 2 once the litlle un pops oot!

    CC, nice one. Raylor isn’t gona know what hit him today like. Fingers crossed he copes eh…….

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  26. Toonsy – ”In our relegation season we ACTUALLY drew 1-1 in this fixture….

    Love that line and well spotted! Haha 😆

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