Manchester City v Newcastle – Premier League match preview and team news

City v United
City v United
So here we are again. Freshly buoyed from a good performance and a rather creditable draw again the reigning champions Chelsea last weekend, we now find ourselves away at a ground which, being kind, we struggle in.

So it’s off the Etihad Stadium where once again my expectations are dragging along the floor somewhere and all I ask for, like last week, is effort, application and commitment. If we manage that then, again like last week, we may find ourselves pleasantly surprised.

I don’t want to delve into recent history too much as I’ll cover that later on but suffice to say it’s been woeful against Manchester City. We can put up fights against Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal yet for some unknown reason we always seem to just roll over for City and with the talent an oil baron can fill a football team with that isn’t a good combination.

But Manuel Pellegrini’s are not proving to be infallible. They started off the season like a dog out the traps but they have hit a rocky patch in recent weeks and haven;t exactly set the house on fire in the Champions League. Not that the Champions League bothers us, or is likely to bother us, anytime soon!

Manchester City:

Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Fabian Delph are all absent through various injuries for the home side. However it’s not all bad news as Wilfried Bony, Kelechi Iheanacho and Eliaquim Mangala are expected to return to the side following recent spells on the sidelines.

Newcastle:

Jack Colback is nursing a calf injury and may be forced to sit this one out. Cheik Tiote could cover for him after a return to fitness.

Gabriel Obertan, Rolando Aarons and Massadio Haidara are all out so Kevin Mbabu is likely to earn a second Premier League appearance following an impressive debut last weekend. Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett, Emmanuel Riviere and Sylvain Marveaux are also out although the latter is edging closer to a return to fitness after some reserve appearances.

Previously…

You have to go back to February 2001 to locate our last league victory at Manchester City – a 1-0 win courtesy of an Alan Shearer goal – and we’ve failed to even draw since the 2006/2007 season. Having said that we did win in the League Cup there last season but our last three trips to the Etihad have seen us lose 4-0 twice and 5-0 on the other occasion.

There have been 164 matches between the two sides in all competitions and the record is pretty even to be fair with United just edging it with 67 wins compared to 61 for City.

Stats and facts…

Newcastle are the only side in the entire football league not to have scored a goal away from home this season.

United need to win today to avoid our worst ever start to the season in the Premier League era.

Manchester City have lost successive league games, having previously won a club record 11 matches in a row. They last lost three consecutive league matches back in November 2008.

City are unbeaten in 17 league meetings with Newcastle (W15, D2), their longest-ever run without defeat against a single opponent in the Premier League.

Final thought…

Hope is in short supply from me today and I fear the worst. City can tear any team apart on their day let alone a team that is still trying to find out if it has legs let alone finding its feet. I suspect we’ll be discussing another defeat come the full-time whistle, and with an international break to ponder it over following the game the mood looks unlikely to improve.

Team news:

Manchester City: Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Nicolas Otamendi, Eliaquim Mangala, Aleksandar Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Aguero

Subs: Willy Caballero, Martin Demichelis, Bacary Sagna, Manuel Garcia, Jesus Navas, Wifried Bony, Kelechi Iheanacho

Newcastle: Tim Krul, Daryl Janmaat, Chancel Mbemba, Fabricio Coloccini, Kevin Mbabu, Moussa Sissoko, Yoan Gouffran, Vurnon Anita, Gerginio Wijnaldum, Ayoze Perez, Aleksandar Mitrovic

Subs: Rob Elliot, Jamaal Lascelles, Mike Williamson, Cheik Tiote, Florian Thauvin, Siem de Jong, Papiss Cissé

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.

299 thoughts on “Manchester City v Newcastle – Premier League match preview and team news

  1. It happened to SBR too Sharpy. 1-0 up after 30 mins, 1-4 at HT. Scholes that time. In his second spell it took KK 10 games to win one.
    On a happier note I’ve just watched Armstrong score another 2 beauties for Coventry. 8 goals in 9 games.

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  2. Stu – Alan Shearers assessment of the first half from MOTD:

    “The first half they looked tight, they looked compact, working for each other, covering each others’ backs, when one person was beat his mate was there to help him out, they were strong in the tackle. Manchester City came up against a wall really in the first 42/43 minutes.”

    Totally agree with him, and the same could be said about the team against Chelsea & Man Utd for example. I don’t believe for a second that part of McClarens team talk was suggesting we change any of those things. The players came out and hadn’t switched back on right away & City took advantage.

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  3. Would love to have Klopp at the club,but I’ve just read he would never go to a club where he didn’t have full control of transfers in and out of the club,so never will we see him at Sjp while jabba owns the club

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  4. Sharpy – We can’t keep looking ‘compact and organised’ if we have a -11 GD. We are shambolic and a half here and a half there where we don’t concede doesn’t mean we’re organised.

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  5. Shearer also had this to say:

    “There is a fragility about Newcastle, there is a losing mentality about the football club, they have now won 1 of the last 19 football matches, they haven’t come from behind to win a game since December.

    “It doesn’t hurt enough, they can’t capitulate like they did after half-time when things are going so well for them, it is just like the flip of a coin.”

    “They were decent and happy with their performance, then be so bad in that second half…it can’t happen like that, it can’t be accepted, that this mentality, losing mentality, is ok in this football club.

    “Because before long they will be relegated if they keep performing like that.”

    I agree with him there too. I think a rot has set in amongst the players 1 win in 19 has to have an effect on the players mentality. We desperately need that win!!. Look at what happened after that Leicester win last season. We went on a mini unbeaten run and shot up the league.

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  6. A new coach is supposed to change the fortunes of the team, Sharpy. The fact is we haven’t even had a new manager bounce! Well unless we call a 2-2 draw with Southampton that.

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  7. I just have not seen one iota of improvement or difference in the team since McClaren took over. We have spent £50m, not lost any players yet haven’t improved at all! In fact the league table says we have got worse. Who’s fault is that?

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  8. I think McClaren was trying his amateur psychology on Sissoko to try to build him up. FFS if he had watched any videos from last season he would have seen that Sissoko was poor (as was Colo which makes his extension, hair or otherwise, all the more baffling). All these managers see themselves as part motivational guru and pride themselves on man management but often lapse into middle management cliche. It seems like it might work with Mitrovic as Steve is saying we can build a team around him now and has now tried the tough love on Sissoko (didn’t work yesterday).

    The problem is when a manager is not strong and doesn’t have a clear message or plan that they end up being the inspirational equivalent of David Brent rather than Winston Churchill.

    The plan from Steve so far has been to pass the ball at least 6 times. I have to say that that is a strange one and would seem to limit fast breaks and put us on the back foot. It is also almost impossible with Timmy-the-hoof in the team.

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  9. Eric – Good coaches don’t continue to pick the same players week after week even though they haven’t had a good game yet. How Sissoko and Colo still play is beyond me. Don’t get me started on Gouffran in midfield. He’s ****, hasn’t played for most of the season and is out of position. What could possibly go wrong?

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  10. Stu – I was a CB in football & a loose head flanker in rugby in my playing days, so basically I was all about keeping to opponents out.
    Our defensive record last season and beginning of this season disgusts me and the fact only Mbemba came in the summer was a joke – although I would say that I’ve been impressed by Mbembas start.
    We are still weak at CB, LB and have no real back up for Janmaat – I don’t see a fix with the players we have – and I don’t see protection from the midfielders McClaren is putting in there at the moment either.

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  11. The Mackem match is going to be crucial, and not just because that is when Troy will decide whether McClaren is a good manager or not. A loss there will really put the pressure on McClaren and there are managers out there who could replace him such a Lucien Favre.

    It doesn’t happen that often, but a bad half season can be overcome. Leicester did it last year and West Ham did it when they sacked Pards. FFS we turned an OK 1st half into desperate survival last year.

    If we are more than 8 points adrift of 17th I think that is when the trigger should be pulled on the manager. He has been given 8 games now and there is not much sign of improvement, so do you trust him with more new players? It is obvious that we need to invest in January but do you trust McClaren to coach them? More importantly, will Ashley sanction spending if he sees us as being relegated? Will players come without a relegation get out clause and do we trust Steve to sell them that the club will survive if we are in the bottom 3? He is a good talker but he doesn’t seem very inspirational.

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  12. Stu – we can dismiss them as accuses, but I do think we’ve had tough opening fixtures. But I also think the bans for Janmaat and Mitrovic have disturbed McClarens plans – Mit in particular. I thought we were excellent against Chelsea and but for a great strike from Ramires and a stupid foul by Sissoko, we would have won that one – which would have given great confidence.
    He’s been experimenting with the team in the first 6 games I’d say, particularly with the forward players, which has been unsettling. Looking at the fixtures we’ve had, I think most would say we are 3pts off where we’d expect to be – which was the Watford game.

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  13. Stuart: it is worse than that with Gouffran. He had not played a single minute of PL football this season and then was asked to anchor the midfield against the best team in the country. Strange decision indeed. He wasn’t worth his place in the team never mind as a central mid.

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  14. Advocaat resigned from Sunderland. I wonder if Steve will do the same because we all know Fatty has put his faith in Charnley. Steve resigning is the only way to save face and Charnley would then have to appoint a higher profile manager to keep his job.

    I am not saying McClaren should be sacked but there has been little evidence so far to defend him. He has a history of resigning, which may be just as well with Fatty in charge.

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  15. In Maca’s defence can I add that pre season was a shambles and player transfers in to the club was pathetic. I said last season we needed a mass clearout and 5 or 6 new ones brought in well before pre season even started.
    The club is now in a total mess and it will be a relegation scrap all season.
    The sooner people get used to the idea the better.
    Oh and January will be another farce in desperation to avoid the inevitable.
    All too little too late.

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  16. Troysta: you watched it all? As I said above I ignored the game after the 3rd went in but stayed in the Pub. When they were six up with 1/2 an hour to play I feared double figures.

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  17. Shame Pards is out of his depth as a premier league manager. We could have asked him to return. 😯
    YCMIU
    YKWYA

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  18. The best thing is no one can blame the FANS anymore
    Everything, the whole sorry mess lies at Fatso’s door.
    The shop keeper who got lucky on the stock market but knows sweet fa about running a football club.

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  19. aye clearly Percy has learnt a few things since his abortion of a job with us.
    shame he didn’t have a backbone when he was here and stood up for what was right. Particularly after the 5th place finish. That was the time to stamp his feet and rattle his chains. But no, instead he sucked up to the fat controller and it has been downhill ever since.
    At the time his stock was high and he had nothing to lose.
    I dont care how well he is doing now, at that time, he let us down, plain and simple.

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  20. Pards and Steve are cut from the same cloth, both should be capable of producing a good set of results given the right tools. At this moment in time Pards has those tools, steve doesn’t. I would keep maybe 5 or 6 of our players that’s it.

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  21. There’s no reasoning with some of the clueless muppets on here and other Newcastle message boards. Some people wanting McClaren out and replaced with the likes of Poyet and Allardyce. With the exception of Thauvin who is no better or arguably worse than Cabella; the club’s recruitment drive in the summer wasn’t that bad. The players brought in were an improvement on what was currently in the squad and have shown some signs of promise. They’ll need a bedding in period and McClaren has used this first set of fixtures to figure out his best team. Granted 3 points is a paltry total but how many more points were we expecting from a difficult set of fixtures? I’d be worried if we’re in the bottom 3 at the midpoint of the season but talk of a new manager and certain relegation is premature. The club’s biggest mistake was not bringing in more defensive reinforcements; however I do think we carry a bit more of a threat going forward compared to last year

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  22. Ravi: McClaren himself said to judge him after 10 games. So he has 2 left and then Trotsta will pass judgment.

    Troysta: Your brother on Eds is using YCMIU. Whose phrase is it (yeah I know it is not patented)? Or are you both the same person masquerading as different bloggers. Has anybody seen Troy and B&B in the same room at the same time?

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  23. Kimtoon: Van Gaal tied his hands by making Rooney captain and undroppable just like we did with Coloccini.

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  24. Ravi
    You would be concerned if we are in the bottom 3 at the midway point. What happens if we are rooted to the bottom and a large gap to 4th bottom after 10 games ? That is a real possibility. Get real before its too late.

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  25. I was never an Abeid cheerleader but it made no sense to sell him for what we received. With our injury record we need all the bodies we can get.

    Abeid proved nothing either way in my opinion but at least he is a central midfielder.

    Not enough has been said about playing a forward as a defensive midfielder when Sissoko or Wij were the more logical choices. Maybe not much has been said because it is FKIN OBVIOUS.

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  26. He might look ok going forward, but Janmaat is a minging defender…
    the bloke has a turning radius of a VW bus… 👿

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  27. Oh, and Gouffran played **** in the first half as well giving away fouls and being out of position. Not much was said about it because overall we were doing well.

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  28. Eric
    He’s copied off me. I have it patented as well as YKWYA (You Know Who You Are) 😛

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  29. If we haven’t won after 10 games then people must be crazy if they don’t consider sacking SM.
    There’s a gap opening up now with 4th bottom. Worrying.

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  30. Troy, it took the team a while to register their first win last season; still a long way to go and a transfer window on the horizon. It’s fans like you that probably sing everyone’s praises following a victory then demand change once we lose. Give the manager a chance

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  31. Open your eyes peeps.
    We’re going down with this shower.

    Ashley will put millions at the disposal of the football board, but if we buy poor then we wont improve the team.

    I’m fed up with this give the team/manager/foreigners a chance.

    It stands to reason that the newly promoted teams will have a finely tuned team ethic, because that is what got them promoted in the first place…however they will be lacking “Premier League” experience… Watford on the other hand are conundrum, changing 15 players and the manager and still making us look like amatuers at home…

    Janmaat, Anita, Gouffron, Obertan, Sissoko, Thauvin, De Jong… all light weight cast offs by there respective clubs, and we are the diddys who bought them… thats why we are bottom of the league…

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  32. Who exactly does anyone think will come in if Steve got the boot? I wouldn’t put it past Jabba to reappoint JFK

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  33. So we manage to give a pretty good account of ourselves v Arsenal with only 10 men and it took a home goal to beat us. Today Arsenal put 3 past Manure with ease, does that make them worse than us then?

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  34. MM: The Thauvin transfer is the strangest one because the money could be used elsewhere and there were many doubters in France. He has hardly played but it is too soon to write him off. I am not writing de Jong off yet because I don’t think he is fit so I can’t judge him. He had a lot of fans in Holland though and I think Ajax weren;t willing to take a risk on his fitness and we were due to Ashley’s gambling nature.

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  35. Also, I think Janmaat is OK against all but the speediest wingers or elite players like Silva.

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  36. You know on Thauvin it might have been Carr covering his mistake. He was presented with a way of erasing his mistake and acting like it never happened if Thauvin is successful. That’s the big if, because if he isn’t then it is compounding his mistake. In any case, I think it is Carr trying to protect his reputation for what that is worth. I got rid of my “In Carr we Trust” t-shirt years ago.

    I hope you know that was a joke 🙂 Even Ed has turned a bit on Carr and he had that t-shirt link on his site for years.

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  37. Being someone who tries to see the silver lining in every cloud – it has to be a positive having a **** run against teams we wouldn’t expect to pick points up from (Watford the exception of course).

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  38. Ravi
    It’s fans like you that are the problem. I’m not calling for SM sacking yet but it should be considered if we haven’t won one game after 10.
    You can leave things too late. There’s a gap opening up.

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  39. If we shouldn’t be looking to beat Swansea or Southampton the God help us. Or Sheff Wed, don’t forget them.

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  40. Troy, it doesn’t matter who is coach if some quality experienced players aren’t bought in . We are in a mess primarily due to the owners cheapskate approach over the years, the fact that he sells us as a stepping stone club ( which surely cannot be denied ) is what is hampering us. We have a few players who do not fight for the shirt enough simply because they think they can just ship out to something better . There is also a broader problem in as much as the clubs location isn’t as desirable as say London for a lot of players. If we don’t pick up soon that problem will be even worse as no one will consider the cold north east combined with a relegation fight.

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  41. Heard an interview with De Boer giving it large about coming to England…
    Liverpool and Newcastle mentioned…
    The only “decent” manager out of work at the moment is Klopp…

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  42. If Steve were to leave or get the boot, Jabba will take the cheap option and promote from within.

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  43. Kim
    I agree some of the players are poor but I don’t believe we should be where we are. Poor tactics and organisation by SM hasn’t helped.

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  44. Kimtoon, the big issue now is that there is so much money in the EPL that bang average players get bigged up and land in the 15 mill bracket.
    Then you get clubs like the toon who get muffed into buying foreigners who are a massive risk and don’t cut the mustard…
    Throw in a manager who seems to be out of his depth and you are on a hiding to nothing.

    Regarding De Boer, he should have moved last season when his credit rating was high. He’s just failed to progress Ajax into the next round of the Champs League, and is struggling with an average Ajax team in an average Dutch League. I think the whole issue of all things Dutch turning a bit sour may speak against De Boer…
    Curious to see where Rogers ends up too, because he really has frittered the millions away over the years, and his lack of quality signings must worry an owner… He can only fall now imo…will end up in the Mark Hughes /Tony Pullis category …where he probably belonged anyway until Liverpool took an expensive punt on him…

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  45. Troy, you just need to give Shteve time, he’s still trying to work out his best formation 😳
    silver purse and pigs ear come to mind…

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  46. Just having a look at Norwich. They are 13th, on 9 points and a -2 goal difference. They are WLD in their last 3. Surely this is a beatable side for us at home? No big goal scorers. Jerome and Hooper up front and some decent midfielders. McLaren must find a way to win this one….

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  47. If we can sell Cisse, and possibly Tiote in January (many of our other unwanted aren’t worth anything) and bring in Austin and a good CB we might at least make the second half of the season worth watching.

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  48. The next run of games is in our favour. We had better take advantage of it. If we had less than 19 points by January would Ashhole panic and sack McLaren? I think it’s a definite possibility.

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  49. Troy@284, that’s what the bloke asked for himself….. I bet he wishes he hadn’t said that noo 🙂

    At least we’re going to have the new suits available for the Norwich game. If that doesn’t spur us on to victory then I don’t know what will 😆 😆

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  50. G2@286, we all know from the Pardew era that Cashley sticks with his choice and supports his people through thick and thin.
    Would Ashley stick with Shteve after he has bolted his 50 million quid (and counting) cart onto the wrong horse… ? Hmm interesting times…
    That would provoke some serious sphincter control on Ashley’s behalf… still the bloke loves to gamble apparently…

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  51. October and November were usually good months for us under Pardew. If we fail to make up ground in the next 4 games I think McLaren may go before the window opens.

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  52. We’ll see Munich mate. I think you might not be able to pull a pin out of Ashholes **** with a tractor already. He might be realizing now that the money was spent in the wrong areas. Stop chasing French wingers and midfielders Ashhole. We are a disaster at the back. Until that is fixed we will languish near the bottom. That can’t be fixed by bringing in a new manager/head coach.

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  53. I must admit some of SM’s selections and formations have been puzzling. With 2 box two box midfielders available in Gini and Sissoko why on earth did he pick a one time striker in Gouffran to boss our midfield. He’s way off form and has hardly ever if ever played there. A positive slant would say he’s trying to bed most of the team into the positions he wants them to play.
    Frightening to think that was our best team bar Colback.
    Still think it’ll be alright in the end.

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  54. Sunderland away will also be very tense. They will have a new manager by then and a point to prove. They are poor at home and we’re poor everywhere. It will probably be handbags at ten paces…..

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  55. In the end meaning at the apocalypse Georgio mate? When zombies rule and all wear SD kit? I see no light at the end of the tunnel except the 9:10 waiting to smack us in the gobs….. 😥

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  56. Steve McLaren at the latest secret meeting in the bunker with his coaching staff:
    “Now listen lads, we’ve got the 3 point base we need. Now we have to pick up a few points from the next 4 matches. Then I’ll speak with Mike. Tell him it’s all under control. That’s the ticket. Somebody wake Cathro up back there!…” ?

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  57. I feel a bit sorry for Gouffron actually, and to a certain degree McLaren should get a good slapping for this too. Gouffron is light years removed from a good midfielder, so against one of the best ball playing teams in the EPL (without Yaya Toure too…shudder the thought !)…. our super coach plays Gouffron….like ….doh…. 🙄

    The lad will come in and do his best, it’s just that he’s not good enough…

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  58. What’s the betting Big fat head Allardyce (ex-mackem player) goes in and gets them scrapping! Rock bottom here we come >>> glances at table, we already are.

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  59. looks like a point against a pish Chelsea team wasn’t the big deal we all thought is was either 🙁

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  60. McClaren is the same as Pardew. Bang average coach who talks ***** for the most part just to try and look good for the fans.

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