Currently we’re five points clear of Wigan who are away at West Brom this afternoon. In an ideal world that gap would be extended to eight points with just three games to go (for them anyway) as we win and they lose.
However I get the feeling that things aren’t going to go to plan in much the same way that they’ve not gone to plan all season long. At the moment we can sort of forget about Wigan as our destiny is in our own hands, but for it to stay that way we must win at all costs this afternoon and take the points away from a host of faces who will be desperate to put one over on us.
Sam Allardyce, Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan are all former employees of Newcastle and will want to make a point, especially Allardyce who has made it a habit of getting one over us wherever he has been. His brand of football may attract criticism but it’s effective, especially against us.
We look devoid of confidence, lacking ideas and low on fight which are ingredients needed to help pull us out of this mess. One win is all it will take I reckon, but until that comes nerves will understandably be frayed. A growing injury list has seen Moussa Sissoko added to the list of walking wounded. Put simply, things are bad right now.
If you need a bit more background ahead of the match then why not take a look at our match preview article which is linked at the bottom of this article? It features all the other injury news, a history of the fixture and some facts and stats to get you thinking.
The game itself is not being shown live here in the UK so streams will be needed. Once again if you happen to find one then please leave a link to it in the ‘comments’ section below. Team news will be made available as soon as I can get my hands on it.
Howay the lads!
West Ham: Jussi Jaaskelainen; Joey O’Brien, Winston Reid, James Collins, Guy Demel; Gary O’Neill, Mohamed Diame, Kevin Nolan, Matt Jarvis; Ricardo Vaz Te, Andy Carroll
Subs: Stephen Henderson, Emanuel Pogatetz, Matt Taylor, Mark Noble, Jack Collison, Joe Cole, Carlton Cole
Newcastle: Rob Elliot; Danny Simpson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa; Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Jonas Gutierrez; Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse, Yoan Gouffran
Subs: Steve Harper, Mike Williamson, James Perch, Dan Gosling, Vurnon Anita, Adam Campbell, Shola Ameobi
i love the fact we’re comfortable with going to QPR needing to win 😯
i reckon we’ve got one more point to play for. not enuf
mark(Quote)
agree mark unles norwich lose there last 2 games
batty(Quote)
Much better but still not quite good enough. We had an actual defense with Colo in there and Mbiwa on his left. Simpson was steady which was just enough as it turned out. We neutralized Carroll and Nolan for most of the game. The Cisse shot was in from 1 camera angle, bad luck there. Wigan won though and Sunderland have 2 games in hand over us don’t they? Still a huge worry ahead but at least some promising signs. The lads clearly haven’t thrown in the towel, most importantly of all.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Batts we’ll do it lad trust me 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
I have to agree with SouthernGeordie @364 that it was Wigan that showed the real spirit and fight today. We hung on well and had a couple of decent chances but we need more against QPR. Ben Arfa showed some signs that he is coming back into form and Cabaye started to find him more often. I think it will be Ben Arfa that saves us if anyone does (or either Wigan or Norwich will finish the season flat). It seems most likely to me still that Wigan is most likely to go down, followed by Norwich, followed by us so we aren’t out of it by any means.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
BIG DAVE
May 4, 2013 at 21:19
Dave, you’re a good lad, but I think you may be pissed! 😯
What makes you think we will win only our 2nd away game of the season at the 19th attempt?
Stuart79(Quote)
Aye Big Dave I think we’ll just do it as well mate. Was hoping for much better this season though mate. Batty have you cheered up after your wine gums lad? 😀
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Geordietwo the fact that the players came out and showed they haven’t gave up was a big plus point for me
Big Dave(Quote)
cant see it dave 👿 G2 HAVE YOU CHEERED UP AFTER I TOLD YOU WIGAN AND VILLA WOULD WIN
batty(Quote)
OUR BEST CHANCE OF STAYING UP IS GETTIN ANOTHER POINT AND NORWICH LOSING LAST 2
batty(Quote)
You were spot on there Batty, sad to say from our team’s point of view. Still the numbers look as if they will just work out for us. Villa have definitely pulled their socks up. Norwich do look in serious trouble to me now as well. If we even get a point from QPR I think we’ll be ok.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Stu simply because I have to to try to keep a bit of hope and faith, add to that that if we can’t beat QPR now then we deserve to go down. I am just glad I gave up drink yrs ago or I would have threw the towel in like a lot of others.
As I said the other day without hope whats the point ❓ im a fighter in life and I hope our team will show the same fight and not give up
Big Dave(Quote)
Fair enough Dave but I am just seeing it logically – hopefully it goes illogically!
We have only scored once in the last 4 games and that was a 93rd minute goal against Fulham – I just do not see where the quality is at the minute and that is simply down to confidence. The players are that short of it that they are just playing poorly. That’s why I advocate a change of manager NOW – the players need a shot of confidence and unfortunately we’re in survival mode and that is short term.
Stuart79(Quote)
Batts @ 384 don’t give up hope mate 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
DAVE we lost to reading at home that itself we deserve go down
batty(Quote)
Aye Big Dave @383 I agree. 39 and we’ll hold the line. But Ashley better put his work clothes on and start making changes.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
how is this team going to escape (seems likely) compared to ours;
Latics: Robles; Boyce, Watson, Scharner; Stam, McCarthy, Gomez, Beausejour; McManaman, Maloney, Kone.
We’ve spent quite a bit and have some great players but poor tactics and no 2nd striker have messed us up. Pardew to blame for me…
mark(Quote)
dave ive give up were down
batty(Quote)
Not so Batty @390. We’re quarter finalists don’t forget. We may be a sleeping giant but every so often we wake up and go for another pint (or a point if we can manage it). 😆
GeordieTwo(Quote)
i quite enjoyed our last dip into the championship. I’m mentally preparing for it again.
Which players out of our starting 11 will still be here? Elliot, Haidara, Taylor?
mark(Quote)
Stu I 100% understand what way your looking at it but I can’t give up hope yet, as for a new manager I really can’t see that happening now, and tbh I think the players should have got a bit of a boost after todays game as I do think we deserved the win and im sure the will feel the same as imo that goal should have stood and if it had off we would have had 3 pts in a game that a lot said we would get battered in 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
I do hope you’re right Dave. But if we cannot even win the games we deserve to win, what chance do we have?
It is written in the stars what will happen next week. Remy will score the winner…
Stuart79(Quote)
Batts sorry but I am not giving up just yet because if I do I have fuk all to look forward to because I think we will loss most of our team and will really struggle to recover
Big Dave(Quote)
Stu I hope Remy gets injuried in training this week and is on his hols 😀
Big Dave(Quote)
qpr will try to take us down with them
batty(Quote)
Right you all know I’m a glass half empty girl and I have been saying we are down for a few games now BUT,a few positives from today .Eliott was brilliant kept us in it. 2. Mbiwa was excellent a revelation at FB .3. We kept out Carroll AND Nolan and Vaz te and that’s no mean feat ,plenty others have struggled against them. 4,If we can keep them two quiet/ out ,then Remy shouldn’t be too difficult .5 our back four looked much more assured and Colo and Taylor are defo our best CB pairing.And finally QPR kept Arsenal to 1 goal ,so there is no reason we can’t better that ,we just have to want it enough. So yes we are probably down but if they keep believing and Pards can grow a backbone and keep up the pressure for the whole game we may yet survive.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Kim – I agreed with everything until I got to your final point.
Stuart79(Quote)
That’s the spirit Kimtoon and Big Dave. There were some positives to take from that game. And we have QPR next, not ManU, Man City, Chelsea or the like so cheer up everyone. As for what Ash/Llam think of this season will we ever really know since neither of them is too big on honesty?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Stuart 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
We are not down yet and a win against Qpr will save us , Norwich are the ones that will go .
Axel(Quote)
That’s it Axel. I think we’ll eventually convince Batty and Stuart.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
If I was Ashley I would pay someone to kidnap Shola before the QPR game . 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
Tell you what though I would bloody love it if Shola scored the goal that keeps us up.
KIMTOON(Quote)
I mean how ironic would that be if the much derided Shola kept us in the PL 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
Ha Ha Kim.
Time for some shut eye Honey, you’re getting deluded again. 😛
I said before ko today, if/when stroller comes on, its game over for us.
We literally go from playing with 10 men * down to 9
* I don’t count Jonas, as we carry him for 90 mins anyway.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
BB, with Norwich on 38 points too ,they have only scored 34 goals to date compared to our 43 . I’m starting to fancy our chances more than theirs tbh.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Jesus .Wigan got lucky today that last min goal line clearence 🙄 lucky lucky boys 👿
KIMTOON(Quote)
Seriously, if any other team started every game with only 10 men playing, they would be in the exact same predicament as us. ie ******.
How can a player so badly off form, who contributes the square root of nothing to a game, keep getting picked as a starter.
Simply beggars belief.
Add to that a striker who can only shoot with his shins (excluding worldly’s)
and its really no wonder we are where we are.
I called for Parsnips head in November and for good reason.
We may live to regret backing him and not sacking him.
No other team got the reinforcements parsnip got in January. But without the ones he got, I honestly believe we would have already been confirmed relegated.
👿
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
**** West Brom should of had 2 pens in all 👿 My utter hatred for Wigan is complete
KIMTOON(Quote)
Oh Kim. Don’t forget, historically we have no luck on our side when it comes to major game changing decisions.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Sorry Stuart, don’t mean to pick on you but couldn’t resist this:
@388 Fair enough Dave but I am just seeing it logically
@397 It is written in the stars what will happen next week.
😆 😆 😆
brisvegas(Quote)
BB, true mate.Today a classic example ,lino slips just as Cisse strikes so the ref has to call it 🙄 and over at the Hawthornes 2 stone wall pens for the Baggies not given 🙁 it’s enough to make you weep.
KIMTOON(Quote)
All I know is QPR have been ***** all season 4 wins ,so we must go there to attack end of.
KIMTOON(Quote)
That lino who fell over and says the ball didn’t cross the line was the same lino Wilkes who never saw the full extent of Mcmanamans tackle on Haidara 👿
KIMTOON(Quote)
The linesman got it right, the ball didn’t cross the line totally.
We can’t use this as an excuse for the rest of the season.
funkyjesus(Quote)
cheeses you couldn’t make it up if you tried 🙁
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Kim – I agree, we NEED to attack qpr from the off, but this time we MUST come away with the 3 points.
No excuses will be acceptable.
Full week to prepare n everything
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
once again we looked shattered during the 2nd half.
Don’t understand how our whole squad is so unfit at this vital part of the season.
crazy
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
we only used 2 subs today
clearly Pardum has no confidence in Anita or Campbell or surely he could have used one of them to replace the hapless Cabaye or Jonas.
Either one of them could surely have been game changers in attack.
Why even bother taking them if he has no intention of using them.
Pardumdum needs to show more attacking intent v qpr, yet I suspect he is feeling rather smug with himself for coming away from the Boleyn with 1 point. “No mean feat if I’m honest” 😈
I’m sure he is already planning how to come away from Loftus Rd with another well earned point.
All we will need to do then is beat Arsenal at home 😯
Its still in our own hands blah blah.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Not using substitutes is one of my biggest pet peeves. Like you said, why take them?
We spent nearly £7m on Vernon Anita and I’ve still not seen enough of him to form an opinion but I’ve certainly seen nothing to justify treating him like this.
Why did we sign him to do this?
funkyjesus(Quote)
I agree he has been treat with little or no respect imo
But Dumdum has previous history of not using the assets he has to hand
(Tevez) and we all know how that one worked out.
Dumdum knows best. NOT. 👿
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
40 pts Stoke – Mackems (A), Spurs (H), So’ton (A)
40 pts Fulham – L’pool (H), Swansea (A)
40 pts Villa – Chelsea (H), Wigan (A)
39 pts So’ton – Mackems (A), Stoke (H)
38 pts Norwich – West Brom (H), Man City (A)
38 pts NUFC – QPR (A), Arsenal (H)
37 pts Mackems – Stoke (H), So’ton (H), Spurs (A)
35 pts Wigan – Swansea (H), Arsenal (A), Villa (H)
M(Quote)
So many comments/oppinions. The truth I think about our chances of survival are 50/50.
We haven’t had many English/Brits playing which is a major negative, all of them (5) did alright yesterday, good to see! The French didn’t join for a scrap and never expected this, which worries me… in terms of flair they bring some quality yes, but in terms of stomach question marks remain and we need stomach not dropping heads. Pardew finding a balance among this is crucial in my opinion.
Positives are we have Ben Arfa back who brings with him major unpredictability which we badly need in the attacking sense. Depends how Pardew instructs him, he should be pushed up behind Papiss Demba Rodney Cissé 9, causing stress to defenders. Colo is back too – enough said.
Safe to say a win and a draw should definitely do it we all agree I’d say… but it depends how much heart is in the team on each given day and picking the right combination of players is vital as some are no doubt thinking ahead to pastures new, it is not a simple case of selection just being based on faith of reputation now. Technically it’s more than possible but we need some beef. Thin lines. It’s 50/50.
Hoddo(Quote)
I just read that the linesman who didnt see the ball go over the line was Matthew Wilkes who also didnt see the McManaman challenge on Hiadara, would have thought they would have kept him away from our games to avoid any controversy.
Robert(Quote)
Hoddo@428, well formulated argument mate., and welcome to the blog..
The biggest worry about our bunch of losers is that we are absolutely powder puff up front, and for some reason several of our players cannot last more thsn 70 minutes, whether it be due to lack of fitness or poor tactical choices by the manager and/or players.
We are by far the worst footballing side in the league in my opinion, though yesterday West Ham pushed us pretty close. All this absolute dribble from our manager are just sound bites which are not distracting me personally from the facts.
Munich Mag(Quote)
You cannot blame Shola if Pardew keeps picking him, the bloke is an employee at NUFC at the end of the day. Sadly whereas last season he may have come off the bench and nicked us something with his brute force or presence, this season he has been horribly ineffective for the majority of the time. That Pardew chooses to bring him on purely for his defensive qualities and to somehow help out the outmuscled Cisse is clear for everyone to see, because he brings nothing to the attacking side of our game. The bloke can’t even run ffs. The corner flag could mark him out of the game 👿
If I was Pardew I would instruct Cisse to go down fouled more often on the front line, to win us free kicks in dangerous situations in front of goal. A goal directly from a free kick from Cabaye or HBA would do the job, and they have it in them to do that. The huffing and puffing we are trying at the moment is useless, get the ball wide, cross the ball high into the middle and watch how Cisse can’t attack the ball.
Munich Mag(Quote)
How long is Debuchy suspended and can we expect Sissoko back for the next two games ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
Debuchy back for QPR game – he only had one match ban
3hourswasted(Quote)
next week the matc of the season ❗
i hope this … a warrior team for win …vital fucking win ❗ 👿
4-3-2-1 : elliot / debuchy-mbiwa-colo-jonas / tiote- cabaye-sissoko /ben arfa-gouffran / cissé ❗
this team is most equilibrate and secure can attack on all the front very well …..i hope pards do this ❗
we need a 3 massive points ! no draw !
QPR is relegate ! i think if we can t beat them ,we are no premiere league team ❗ 👿
djebs9(Quote)
djebs9 that looks like a great line up on paper, on paper good enough to pick up at least a point at QPR…. Depending upon who QPR play up front on the right I would toy with the idea of playing Mbwia at left back after his excellent performance yesterday. If he was on a 1 on 1 with Remy I would really fancy Mbwia ahead of Jonas. That team also has goals in it…
Munich Mag(Quote)
ok munich mag…why not…but if we play at our real level ..i think we can beat QPR and why not arsenal at home… ❗
because we can play well i think very well like last season..but pards tactics and management is deteroried this season. ❗
and i still think ..sucess last season is the rest of management of chrissy hughton…no doubt about that ❗
pards trouble is just justice of football low… ❗
djebs9(Quote)