Friday brought confirmation that Newcastle will be without defensive duo Daryl Janmaat and club Captain Fabricio Coloccini for the visit of Swansea on Saturday afternoon. It means that Benitez’s options in defence are limited and once again he will have to cobble together a make-shift back four for a crucial Premiership fixture. United’s failure to sign defensive cover during the January window has left them painfully short as horrendous injury problems have once again crippled the Newcastle squad.
Coloccini has been out since before Benitez arrived at the club and suffered a setback this week to remain side-lined with a calf injury. This means that Mbemba will more than likely partner Lascelles at centre half as Steven Taylor is also ruled out, although his form would have seen him benched anyway.
Benitez does have some decisions to make at full back though. Paul Dummett should start at left back if fit enough although Jack Colback’s return to the squad could see him play in that role. Kevin Mbabu’s return to the squad could see him replace Janmaat at right back but Vernon Anita is more likely to start as Mbabu is still short of match sharpness.
The most intriguing aspect of the game lies in midfield as Jonjo Shelvey lines up against his former club as captain of his current one. It would have been nice for Colo to have played to take the burden of captaincy away from Shelvey who has struggled for form since wearing the armband. But the added responsibility for Shelvey against Swansea could go in Newcastle’s favour as he will have a duty to keep his composure in a fixture filled with emotion. Jack Cork has tried to wind Shelvey up on social media and Swansea will probably try to antagonise the Newcastle captain further throughout the game. Newcastle need Shelvey to handle the situation and have the game of his life. What a story it would be if Shelvey could open his account at Newcastle by scoring the winner against Swansea. He will have dreamt it that way, although I’m sure he’ll settle for the three points, no matter how they come.
And I really liked Dame Judi Dench’s work in that sickly middle class/ Daily Mail sitcom. What was it “As Time goes by”. Actually Stephen Hawking declined a knighthood but curiously accepted a CBE.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Ice, can’t believe you had to pay £40 for a month old baby that won’t even be in a seat 😯 and no changing facilities 😯 😯 What a bloody joke the club has become. Family club!- don’t make me laugh.
Watched the Leicester game and cannot believe how poor the ref was , big blow to lose Vardy, didn’t look a dive to me. And typical Arsenal to be toothless just when we need them to be ruthless with the Scum to play. We on the other hand play a resurgent City with De Bruyne back and Nasri, while Norwich had them when they were weaker and without them players. Bad luck we didn’t play them when we should have cause they were **** back then. Oh and Pool look to have found their mojo now too, typical. 🙄
kimtoon(Quote)
There was actually a link between the honours/West Ham and media pandering and that is they get a free ride and honours and all we ever get is stick. Today exemplified the toadying that goes on between the press/pundits and West Ham.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
David Bowie turned down two honours Eric, one being a knighthood. When asked why, he said ” what good are they to me? What would I do with them?. Yet another reason he’s my hero, the system is a joke, even Karren Brady is a Tory life peer now a baroness and a CBE 😯 , The same women who was arrested but not charged along with Sullivan in 2008 on football corruption charges. It was her that negotiated the deal for the Olympic stadium too. Like everything in life it’s not what you know but who you know.
kimtoon(Quote)
Gash – that’s really clutching at straws mate
no hope at at all really then.
But seriously I know it’s still mathematically possible n all, but unlikely in the extreme.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Kimtoon: much as I dislike Ashley, I am a bit annoyed that Marin Samuel in the Mail singled him out as an unfit owner yesterday. I wonder when his article on Gold and Sullivan or Abramovich will appear? I really do think there is a media bias towards NUFC. They never miss an opportunity to ridicule us or kick us in the nuts.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kim – we could have played city when they were off form, and we still would have lost.
I have to say, I was pleased Rafa got a win on his birthday, finally, and of course he is so much a better manager / head coach than Schteve would ever have made, but it’s all to little too late.
That’s our new manager bounce over and done with.
We are relying on 2 other teams to fail even worse than us, just to keep us in the hunt.
Talk about desperate.
Nee chance
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Actually Kimtoon: it was Oliver Holt who did some justified Ashley and Charnley bashing in The Mail. In the same article though he says that it was good that West Ham got the Olympic Stadium with no mention of the Bongo Brothers or Karren Brady’s similarly despicable actions and business. One rule for West Ham and other London Oligarchs and another for the rest of us. Especially The Toon. Bunch of hypocritical pandering turds.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here’s the Mail article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-3543699/Mike-Ashley-knows-price-value-nothing.html
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric – I’m sorry but we deserve all the ridicule we get and ashley is reaping what he has sown.
I don’t deny the other club owners deserve their fair share, but Ashley and Shyte Disgust are the current hot potato to hate. Nee sympathy from me. none
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
BB: I didn’t say we didn’t deserve ridicule for some things and didn’t defend Fat Mike. I said there is a double standard where Abramovich, Gold and Sullivan get no scrutiny and have done much worse things.
If West Ham get to the Champions League in the next few years it will be portrayed as a legacy of Moore and Hurst and not a shady under the table deal done by a couple of porn merchant chancers to steal a stadium from the tax payers.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I said this yesterday, but what West Ham are paying for a 700 million pound stadium you couldn’t even lease a dog track for in London. Their rent even includes the goal posts and painting of the white lines. Their friends in Fleet Street and at the BBC and Sky just let it all pass with hardly a mention.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Knees up Mother Brown, Oh Rodney What a Plonker, Peckham, Bobby Moore… Let’s give them nice Porno boys a free gift from the Tax Payer. It is West Ham after all and their friends in the media and Punditry won’t say a dickie bird.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
ERIC what favours are they giving some politicians I ask you never know,more so when it’s found out that a couple of MP have shown cabinet papers to their call girls ffs
Icedog(Quote)
Ice: sorry to rant. I just find this favourtism to West Ham bizarre. I don’t think the Ref did it on purpose today but the reaction of the media is always in West Ham’s favour. The Stadium thing is favouritism by omission because if it was Villa or us for example you know the press would be up in arms about Government handouts.
My brother rents a council house and they forced him to move to a smaller place because his step-daughter moved out. Luckily he liked the smaller place more. But it one rule for some etc. and having MPs take up the cause of a Bobby Moore knighthood when there are so many other causes they could champion is just a joke and shows them for what they are.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I really am sick of West Ham getting a free ride with everyone and really think there is a conspiracy among journalists especially, whether it is on purpose or just a bias that they do not realise (or admit to themselves) they have.
Sir Trev of Brooking has 47 England caps and was a paid employee of a sports body that promoted grass roots sports. He was knighted in 2004. How many other grass roots sports people are there who were not knighted? It was his name and connection to West Ham that got him the honour. The current chairman is not even a CBE.
Keegan was a better player and managed England. Where is his knighthood? He also worked promoting football at the grass roots level.
Again, I have nothing against Brooking as an individual, it is just one more example of West Ham favouritism.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Brooking was knighted in 2004 before he joined the FA so it wasn’t his work there that qualified him.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, Sorry, not ignoring you, was seeing to Lew. Yeah mate I do agree it’s open day on the Toon at the moment but as has been said the club bring it on themselves. But you are right there is massive southern bias, twas always that way.
Just look at the way Ice and Pups family were treated this weekend for instance, diabolical to charge a month old tot £40 for a seat they can’t sit in. If that hits the rags it will be more ammo and rightly so. Like the Radiohead song says – You do it to yourself, you do
And that’s what really hurts
Is that you do it to yourself
Just you and no one else
You do it to yourself
You do it to yourself
That’s Mike and the clubs bloody theme tune right there. Own goals a plenty but non on the pitch. 🙄
kimtoon(Quote)
Some players with more England caps than Brooking:
Shearer
Keegan
Waddle
Shilton
Becks (he actually does a lot of Charity work)
Bobby Moore 🙂 🙂 🙂
Many, many more.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kimtoon: I didn’t think you were ignoring me and would be surprised if anyone has read my West Ham rant. I just wanted to say it because it is rarely acknowledged.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, Big Al should defo get a knighthood if it’s based on charity work, he’s raised fecking shitloads. Has his own foundation for disabled kids, done tons of other stuff too. He epitomises what a professional footballer should be in my eyes.
kimtoon(Quote)
How right you are,it’s who you know,makes me sick,good guy keeps his wife and kids out of the limelight,unlike the likes of Beckham anything for the press
Icedog(Quote)
When people do charity work or work with kids they usually get an MBE or CBE, hardly ever a knighthood (like Sir Trev). It has also been a recent phenomenon to give them to sports stars for their sporting achievements. I don’t begrudge Sir Bradley rides-a-bike-fast his knighthood because a) he was the first Brit to win the Tour de France (a massive achievement) and b) he has no West Ham connections that I am aware of.
When Barbara Winsor was made a Dame I had a good laugh with me Mam about it. I’m starting a campaign to have Sid James posthumously knighted, and Franky Howerd, oo er missus, yes me Sir Frankie Lurkalot.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Actually I would prefer Tommy Cooper or Frankie Howard get recognized. They at least made me laugh and made a greater contribution to British film and TV than Barbara Windsor. I would also rule out Judi Dench for contravening the trade descriptions act by calling “As Time Goes By” a comedy. They show repeats of it over here and I occasionally watch 5 minutes of it to see if it will make me even mildly amused. Hasn’t happened yet.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, that was a terrible sit come mate, can’t believe they serve it up to the yanks 😀
Ice, Did you enjoy the game mate?, I think you and pups family are our lucky omen, is he staying over? If so best drag him along to the City game. 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
Eric, I like Mrs Browns boys.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kimtoon: they show every bloody British mystery here as well. Although I think they had to cancel inspector Morse and Lewis because they had killed every Oxford Don off and ran out of stories. There also seems to be an obsession with British vicars solving murders.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I know I go off on tangents but they are initially linked to football and it gets quiet on here sometimes so I just go with my own flow 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric 😆 that’s so true.
Used to love Morse but pissed off the family as I always sussed the killer within the first half hour. The one I can’t abide is Midsummer murders, oh and bloody Bergerac. Mainly because it’s stretching the imagination that so many murders would happen in a small village or bloody Jersey.
kimtoon(Quote)
I am giving my opinion that West Ham are given favours by the media and politicians alike and that there are many other causes and people that should be recognized but are partially shut out by this favouritism. See, it is slightly related to football 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric can you remember Callan with Edward Woodward, used to love that, great opening sequence with the swinging lightbulb and brilliant theme tune too.
kimtoon(Quote)
Spender with Jimmy Nail was good too, see that’s Toon related. 😀
kimtoon(Quote)
Kimtoon: there were only ever about 3 other characters in each episode of Morse so it wasn’t hard to suss out the killer a lot of the times. Except in a few episodes when they would introduce a completely new plot and character about 3 quarters of the way through with little link to the previous investigation and it turned out that it was them that done it.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kimtoon: they show every bloody British mystery here. There is a vicar (Father Brown?) solving murders now and someone in Cambridge (also a vicar) set in the 50s. Morse and Lewis killed everybody off in Oxford so they had to go back in time with another vicar to another picturesque University Town.
Me Mam wont watch that one with Brenda Blethen as she thinks she does a **** Geordie accent 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Robson Green is in the vicar one in Cambridge and is called Geordie. So that is Toon related 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The Sweeney
Special Branch
And the lovely Adam Faith in Budgie were among my fav shows.
kimtoon(Quote)
Yes, Vera, accent aside the stories aren’t too bad, I only really watched the first series though.
kimtoon(Quote)
Right I’m away before people realise how ancient I am 😳
kimtoon(Quote)
I am currently working on a script about a miniaturized super hero who lives in a laundry basket. My working title is Troy Boy, homunculus windupulus. It tells of the comedy capers of a man-child who uses his Grandmothers babaganoush recipe to see into the future but unfortunately all of his predictions prove to be incorrect with hilarious consequences. The first episode is called “Clarky the Great – his journey from Birmingham to Blackpool to Kilmarnock”.
Unfortunaltly there are no vicars or murders, just a tiny man obsessed with his reality trainset.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Before I go, I LOVED this theme tune and programme, the on screen banter was very good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99QQIXez4M
kimtoon(Quote)
Sounds a surefire hit that like. 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
Oh God Kimtoon you are ancient. Those were past my bedtime.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric – 60%
I said to everyone in here that if we beat Swansea we will stay up. I still think we will.
Stuart79(Quote)
60% on the Stuart-O-Meter. You and BB will be having a falling out. Don’t you know every one of players is **** and played **** in a 3-0 win 🙂 No offense BB 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sort of relevant as we play city on Tuesday. If Liverpool win the Europa then get Champions League for next season, does that then mean 4th spot no longer get it from England, like the year Liverpool won the comp and got in that way, said we could only have 4 teams in CL. Just don’t need City making sure they get 3rd. Of course they could win CL as well and qualify automatically anyway
Simon(Quote)
Troysta went like a good 3 months agreeing with everything Stuart said and even quoting him to AMF. Now the worm has turned. No wonder Troy has no credibility.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Simon: that has a really complicated answer. But here you go:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3541458/Liverpool-edge-closer-Europa-League-glory-happens-Manchester-City-win-Champions-League-finish-fifth-Sportsmail-assesses-permutations.html
Eric Sykes(Quote)
By day, Troy Boy (hominculus windupulus) is a tiny mild-mannered driving instructor with a student pass rate of 0.0001 per cent. He contents himself that his brother Blackley and Brownley has a worse rate than that at 0.00001 per cent and that when Lee Clark was fired from Blackpool ,and needed a part time job, his driving instructor pass rate was 0.0000001 per cent.
At night he emerges from his laundry basket to become – Internet Warrior. A tiny elfen like creature literally riding his reality trainset and letting the world know he is never wrong. Woo hoo is his cry (or was until he gave up on that as well just like he gives up on all of his predictions).
Eric Sykes(Quote)
🙄
ouch
below the belt but very funny
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Firstly, if I had to say “told you so” for everything I have been proved right on I’d be here all day and it would be boring after the first dozen examples!
Yeah but we are talking about in the real world not your fantasy place.
Brisvegas(Quote)
Thanks for the info Eric, be nice to have 5 teams from here in champions league, let’s just hope both are worrying about this seasons Euro comps when we play them
Simon(Quote)
A few weeks ago it was all in our hands. Failure to win v Sunderland, Norwich and Bournemouth took it out of our hands. It’s now about the other teams losing more than us.
Brisvegas(Quote)
Also Kimtoon: I agree with you that Bowie should be your hero for telling them a knighthood is meaningless to him. I looked into what Stephen Hawking said as well. He is now my confirmed hero after turning down a knighthood due to the underfunding of science in the UK (I might add that I think he would condemn the student loan system even more now).
What really makes him a hero to me though is that he got fed up with the pandering and making excuses about God to the establishment. And said, **** it. Of course there is no God. Probably the smartest and most qualified man in the world to say it eventually said there is no God. Fck it, I have been in a wheelchair for 50 years speaking in a robotic American accent. Of course there is no God.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sorry for bringing up religion. I just know Stephen Hawking had changed what he said about it and gave up on the pandering.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Yes Bris, regarding B’mouth, sunderland….i told everyone this 4 weeks ago. I also told everyone yesterday its down to other team losing…. wooo hooo im so right 😯
Gashley(Quote)
there is no god? are you serious? well who created the mountains, sea and tasty chicken?
Gashley(Quote)
could we have a “told-u-so-o-metre” and have a wall of shame for the most told-u-so’s in a month?
Gashley(Quote)
😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Sorry for late reply (bloody kids) no pup and family go home Tuesday afternoon,wished they could stay for game,jabba sorry too he misses out on a extra £40 the greedy gits
Icedog(Quote)
Ice, my heart bleeds for him.
kimtoon(Quote)
KIM,I love Mrs Browns boys too,seen them live great,I also love those Hitler rants on Newcastle on iTunes,hope this one comes out as Ime on my tablet doesn’t copy well
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=F2rKWJBzHas
It’s about when we went down last time 🙂
Icedog(Quote)
On utube
Icedog(Quote)
Ice , yeah I watched it before, very funny.
kimtoon(Quote)
https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2016/04/18/why-rafas-inspired-team-selection-reaped-rewards/
Nice little piece from SRF now live!
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
Watched Mrs Brown’s Boys for the first time on Saturday before MOTD – belly laughed at ‘do you want me to bleach your flapper Mrs Brown?’
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
ANDY try to watch the Mrs Browns boys the one about her doing waxing her bikini line you will be ill laughing
Icedog(Quote)
Haha will do.
I always preemptively thought that program would be terrible but after watching it on Saturday, was pleasantly surprised.
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
People are getting carried away with the win just as they were carried away by the loss to Southampton. Neither result shocked me, in fact I was surprised Saints didn’t put 6 past us because they almost always embarass us at their place. Not sure why that loss seemed to spur us on this week because we’ve been that terrible all year. We lost 5-1 to Palace ffs.
The only real hope for survival is for Defoe’s legs to explode, that’s what I was praying for as soon as scum went 2-0 up against Norwich.
As far as what’s in our own hand? Use Cisse from the bench rather than as a start up front on his own, and never let Taylor back on the pitch ever again.
Lascelles has brought some fight to the team and he doesn’t have to spout drivel about bleeding black and white for me to believe him. Two untested youths in him and Mbemba are better than our “seasoned pro’s” how embarassing is that like?
Newkie(Quote)