Game On! Newcastle v Fulham

Game On at St James' Park
Game On at St James’ Park
Newcastle take on Fulham this afternoon in what is one of our most important games of the season.

With just seven games remaining United find themselves just three points off 18th placed Wigan and time is running out if we are to ensure we don’t suffer another relegation.

Results yesterday mean that it’s technically possible for us to end the afternoon in the bottom three should we lose and other results go against us. Aston Villa are now level on points with us whilst Sunderland could overtake us if they pull off an unlikely (but again not impossible) victory at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile Wigan visit QPR where a victory for the away side combined with a defeat for us and a five goal difference in the scorelines (say we lose by two and Wigan win by three for example) would see us drop to 18th place.

That’s the worst case scenario though. Looking up, a win would see us jump to 13th place ahead of Stoke and Norwich whilst a six-goal swing between the results of our game and West Ham’s visit to Liverpool (again as an example, say we win by three and West Ham lose by three) would see us jump into 12th ahead of the Hammers on goals scored.

Before looking elsewhere it’s important that we get ourselves sorted. Win at all costs is the message of the day as getting points on the board is all that counts and goal difference would only be important at the end of the season anyway.

We are the home side and the pressure is on us to get the victory, but we’re up against a Fulham side who are unbeaten in five and with players like Dimitar Berbatov they have the ability to cause problems. Martin Jol will no doubt have a plan to frustrate us and should they manage to do that in the first 20 minutes or so it’s important that we keep our heads and carry on.

You can read even more build up to the game in my match preview which is viewable by clicking here. It details injury news for both sides ahead of the game, outlines a brief history of the fixture between the two clubs and dishes out some rather interesting statistics along the way.

The game itself is not being shown live here in the UK although it is scheduled for overseas broadcast. That means that those who aren’t going to the game or those currently in a country not showing the match (like me in Belgium) will be looking to watch the match online so if anyone happens to come across a decent stream then please feel free to leave a link to it in the ‘comments’ section below.

Team news will be provided by my good self assuming I have no problems at work so I’ll endeavour to add the team sheet in, in full, at the very bottom of this article.

Which neatly wraps this up and now it’s over to the players and management to put us through the mill once more. I just hope that after 90 minutes all the pain, tears, anguish and tantrums are worth it and we have a priceless victory to celebrate!

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Tim Krul; Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Davide Santon; Sylvain Marveaux, Moussa Sissoko, Yohan Cabaye, Jonas Gutierrez; Yoan Gouffran, Papiss Cisse

Subs: Rob Elliot, Mike Williamson, Vurnon Anita, Gael Bigirimana, Gabriel Obertan, Adam Campbell, Shola Ameobi

Fulham: Mark Schwarzer; Sascha Riether, Philippe Senderos, Brede Hangeland, John Arne Riise; Stanislav Manolev, Eyong Enoh, Giorgios Karagounis, Damien Duff; Bryan Ruiz; Dimitar Berbatov

Subs: Neil Etheridge, Aaron Hughes, Kieran Richardson, Emmanuel Frimpong, Urby Emanuelson, Kerim Frei, Hugo Rodallega

About toonsy

A lifelong Newcastle fan and current webmaster of this very 'blog who has the sole aim of creating a place by Newcastle United fans, for Newcastle United fans.

412 thoughts on “Game On! Newcastle v Fulham

  1. Andy ,Agree Jonas was brilliant today as was Marv and if I’m honest they all did well . Shola missed a sitter though lol ,just saying like.

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  2. @FSOTC

    Do you remember he done that before i think it was last season can’t remember who against though.

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  3. Anything is possible, we just need to score 2 goals against benfica making sure we don’t concede.

    1 early goal, 1 late late penalty or goal. 😆 😆

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  4. Jonas has been a revelation in recent games. Really pleased to see him get some form back again. Maybe some will get off his back again now

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  5. Jonas,Marveux, Krul were excellent and Shola was game changer. Tiote a huge miss once again. No pressing the opposition and no tackling just shadowing in centre midfield

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  6. AOD, if we can play a whole match like we did the first 25 mins of Benfica… who knows? I thought we were really good today too and could have won this one 3-0 with a little luck. Could have won or drawn at Benfica too. Good, positive signs, just have to hammer out the crazy moments.

    Okay I’m off for a bit too. So long people. Three points. A-fucking-men.

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  7. Kim
    Didn’t see the whole game but the team did well and with injured players coming back over the course of the week we can challenge for 10th and the Europa league.
    Campbell showed a bit of inexperience today especially when he lingered on the ball with his back to goal allowing the Fulham player to steal the ball of him. That kind of thing can be addressed by loaning him out a championship team next season, it’ll fix those kind of mistakes.

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  8. Whey at the end of the day we won and i am effing exstatic but god my nerves where shredded , me **** chewed the sette too bits . Went from a big sinking feeling too wild exstasy with Cisse’s goal .Also loved pardew’s reaction and celebration too the goal . NOW LETS DO THE SCUM.

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  9. Loic Remy has been amazing for them wouldn’t mind having another look at him next year if they are relegated. Much better than Andy Carrol anyway

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  10. Kimtoon, I would say Cisse’s goal was also a half chance, cos he still had a load to do to put it in the onion bag ..

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  11. Andy @311 agree on that , it may also be that he was just on and not fully into the game yet possibly ,from the little Ihave seen of him he strikes me quite intelligent position wise but sure others know his game better than I.

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  12. That Remy goal was a screamer and a half shame it has come in the same weekend as Lowton’s goal of the season yesterday.

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  13. @Johno

    Yes definitely he has been class for a shitty QPR side. His wages might be a problem though.

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  14. lol mbia gave a free kick away right outside the box. Mallone scored a cracking freekick.. game over 1-1

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  15. Just thinking Stoke could be the surprise team to drop you know ,they been found out by many sides this season and without the delap throwin look less potent too.

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  16. Things just get better and better 😀 think about it Arry and the unwashed both get relegated and we somehow win the EL .Now that would be great .

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  17. I think a draw is the perfect result for us in that QPR v Wigan game. Unless you really wanted to see Sunderland in the relegation zone 😀

    Be patient they will get there by the end of the season 😛

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  18. not getting carried away but if we beat the scum nxt week and West Ham draw away at Southampton…and Fulham get beat at Villa. we go 10th

    E I E I E I O………………… 😆

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  19. Yeah KIMTOON but the unwashed and Norwich are both in free fall ,i think it will be 1 of them 2 with Reading and QPR. Think the scum have made a massive mistake with Di Cannio.

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  20. I’d happily drive thru sunderland beeping my horn & my car emblazoned with Toon scarfs flags etc if the scum went down..

    I’d much rather have the scum than Stoke

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  21. Anybody hear anything about Santon’s injury? Though Guti did well there but still don’t need any more injuries.

    Heard that he came out and apologized to some fans before the game for his mistake at Benfica. Top bloke.

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  22. @Axel

    I liked PDC at Swindon thought he done fantastic there and from what i have read today Sunderland where alot better today. I really hope you are right but i think he could be a season saver for them. I’m a little less optimistic about are chances next week since he joined.

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  23. Thing is though SANTII he has no top level management experience and too go straight into a relegation battle with players he does not know is a massive ask .

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  24. Santi…he did ok at Swindon by threatening and abusing staff and players, he tried to rule by fear,that won’t wash with Prem players unless he learns and adapts quickly…let’s hope he isn’t a quick learner.

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  25. Richie what do you mean that won’t work on Prem players have you ever heard of a man called Sir Alex Ferguson 😀

    Fair enough we haven’t seen fergy have a punch up with his players but he his Beckham with a boot 😀

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  26. Santi…but that’s cos he’s been there done that and thats all those players have ever known at Old Trafford and they respect him, Di Canio has done **** all management wise…his methods didnt wash at a lower league club in the end so he needs to change…whether he does or not they’ll still finish below us tho 😉

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  27. Pardews Celebration was brilliant. Celebration of the season 😀 Funny how managers can do it but players can’t 😀

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  28. Judging by some of the comments some people watched a different match to the one I was at. Cisse had some bad luck today before he scored. I for one, wouldn’t criticise him for effort and after Shola had been on for ten minutes the way Cisse was chasing the ball you would have thought he had just come on and Shola had played all the game. Can’t understand why Gouffran was taken off. He was doing o.k. and combining well with Jonas. I have been a big critic of Jonas this season but for me today he was man of the match. As for Campbell, when he came on he seemed to play left midfield. I thought he was a forward. Anita did well especially when he moved to the right. Knows how to keep the ball down when passing. I think we deserved to win even if it was a long time coming. Alan please don’t keep picking Shola.

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  29. Remy is a class player, however he’s now proven himself in the prem so expect one of chelsea, arsenal, man city or spurs to buy him. Chelsea will offload Torres, Man City will let Dzeko go, Spurs will sell Defoe or Adebayor and Arsenal need a striker as Gervhino, Podolski just havent worked
    Shame he chose QPR as he would have been class with Cisse

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  30. Hats of to Newcastle who despite a tough midweek game in europe, and having to cope with new injuries today, still managed to take the game to Fulham and win the game with tremendous resilience. The never say die attitude won through today. Well done the lads !!

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  31. Toonsy @ 278 I don’t blame you I feel the same way a lot of time’s, most of the time I read and couldn’t be bothered but then that letting the muppet’s have a free reign

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  32. Big D@358 I don’t know what you’re talking about mate ?….at least not without scrolling through you’re comments… 😉

    Has someone wound you up, hence you’re comment @357 ?

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  33. Munich – Well said, fella. I cannot believe the way some people are going on against anyone criticising Cisse. It was getting my danders up reading the posts, and I was going to say the exact same thing as you. I hate this hero worship that means you can’t criticise without being mugged.

    Cisse worked very hard, but his general play was gash. In fact, I was bad laughing at his sheer ineptitude at times. Just because he scores, it doesn’t change that. Of course, he’s by far and away our best chance of a goal and I’d hate to think where we’d be without him and his goals. However, that doesn’t mean there’s not a lot wrong with his game, and unfortunately we play in such a way that it highlights it. Why try to bring him into the play to hold it up and to link up, when he’s so poor at it? His one strength is getting onto things in the box.

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  34. Munich – well said* [for your earlier comments bringing some balance] I don’t know what’s going on now.

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  35. MM nowt to do with you me old bean your not one of the mafia, you say it how it is you know Cisse is going through a bad season but you still know he is a proper striker.
    t just pisses me off the amount of stick he gets but when he scores it’s different . we all ( well atleast most of us ) know he is going through a hard spell but we still know he is a 20 + a season player and not a championship muppet like some think.

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  36. B&B, I have a tendency to post a comment directly after an action whilst watching the game live on the internet, whether the action is good or bad. If something was **** in my opinion I write it, if good I write it. Howevwer, I try and put another angle on things sometimes, which maybe doesn’t go down well with everybody. Fair enough, it’s just my opinion based on my viewpoint on the internet..

    I really meant it when I said for the life of me I couldn’t understand it why Cisse was untouchable, and I mean it. There is no doubting that he is the main man, and thank goodness for that. However I can’t get my head around this situation where he can’t be criticised. Of course he scores brilliant goals, but he also makes bad choices, and misses easier chances.

    When it’s just I criticise the whole team in fact, and at the same time heap praise on players. I thought that was the whole reason for the blog ?

    The line has to be drawn with personal abuse though, which is way out of order.

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  37. Big D, one of the lads posted earlier that Cisse seems to finish better when he has no time to think, and just rely on his instincts. I’m starting to believe that even more so now.
    I’m not sure in how many Toon games Cisse has scored more than 1 goal to be honest.
    Against Benfica with a bit of luck he could have had 3. Today he didn’t miss too many chances tbh. I think the frustration of a long disappointing season and the fear of relegation is getting the blogsters frustrated. Especially since we all know we have a far better squad than our league position currently shows..

    Regarding your muppets claim, it’s a pity when blokes start hoying there weight about on the keyboards, but I suppose these things happen… 😕

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  38. Well that is the way to win a game – AGAIN!!!

    Anyone who slags Cisse off needs to get a grip – he was class on Thurs and again he didn’t give the ball away once today, kept getting into position and scored a great winner – what do people want?

    But what a win! Needed it. Huge game against Benfica now, which will be a tough game, but the Mackems game is a great game for us now. Pressure all on them and they need to win.

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  39. Groucho @ 351 “Judging by some of the comments some people watched a different match to the one I was at.” I agree. It must look different on TV. We were dreadful in the first half, and Pardew’s game plan was gash. Why isolate Cisse so much and then try to build up through him when that’s clearly not his game. Instead of throwing his notebook down in frustration, Pardew should have screwed his loaf and given the air of someone who knew what he was doing. At least the penny seems to have eventually dropped with Pardew and he is now showing some confidence by selecting my man, Marv. He should however have made sure that his team looked to get him on the ball. There were so many times he was picking up good positions or just making himself easily available and was being by-passed or just overlooked.

    In particular, I agree about Campbell. That’s twice Pardew’s brought him on there and you can tell he looks so uncomfortable. He had no impact. If he’s a right footed striker, why play him left side of midfield. He was like a square peg in a round hole. I can’t believe how much some managers make such a play of protecting young kids; sometimes they protect them so much, they never get on the park. So, why when you do bring a kid on, do you expose him like that?

    I agree about Shola, but not Gouffran, who had to come off for me. He was poor. What summed it up for me was that, when he got the hook, he just walked off. He obviously had no idea of what was required today. It shouldn’t be overlooked that our worst player was the one who didn’t play in Europe.

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  40. MM ,To be fair I think some of it goes back to when Ba couldn’t buy a goal yet pretty much nobody criticized him ,me included ,yet Cisse doesn’t get afforded the same treatment it seems.Even when he scores folk look for something to pick fault with 🙄 I thought his link up and passing has been good of late but all these high balls into the box and lousy corners are of no benefit to him as he needs it played to feet .That may well be a shortcoming in his play but if we know what style of play suits him then it’s up to the team/manager to play to his strengths. That goal today was cultured ,nowt tatty or lacking in skill with that effort .

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  41. B&B@369…aha that is probably the key… Us internet gladiators don’t see the action first hand, so are probably making incorrect calls. Where you at the game today, and how was the general support for the team ?

    I suppose since I watch the game on the internet I don’t really having a fucking clue and it’s just a Fata Morgana when Cisse muffs it… 😳 😆 😆 😆 From now on I’m gonna try and toe the company line… 😆

    btw I love Cisse’s spectacular finishes 🙂

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  42. MM I agree with you 100% that Cisse can be a bit what would you call it 😕 but no one in their right mind can class him as ****, as his record sugest but yeah he is going through a bad run 😉 so |I agree with most of what your saying and I would guess that Cisse agrees with you too .

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  43. Andy @290, remember the Jonas / Santon at full back debate a while back ?

    Jonas at full-back should have been done ages ago with Santon either higher up or dropped. He’s 6′ can tackle and run, but cant cross, he’s shown his worth as a full back, we look safer with him there than Santon. I keep saying it, now the change has been forced on us, the injuries might be a blessing.

    Sissoko needs to go to his natural position as a defencive midfielder, he just runs into blind alleys too much. Possibly with cabaye moving higher up as cabaye is creating nothing where he is now, a few spread out wide but no killer balls like last season, he’s just running round bumping into people. wasted where he is. Sissoko and Tiote as the holding two.

    Cisse will score if we give him enough of the ball in the box on the floor, not trying to out jump Hangerland or Senderos.

    its now pardews call for this thursday , cos some of our players looked out on the feet near the end today, cabaye/Sissoko/Mbwia.

    thought Simpson/marveaux/ did well today and the save from Krul was important at that stage of the game.

    bar the above… f’in get in…… 3 points next week then I can chill for a while.

    1 win 1 draw to go

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  44. I don’t think any right minded person would say you can’t criticize Cisse but it just irritates when people start moaning about him within minutes of the game starting as with Benfica on thursday.

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