Losing Carroll has been a big blow, but the lads that have been fit have managed to put in a shift without their star striker playing and remain unbeaten in the league in 2011.
However, Carroll’s injury, combined with other injuries and suspension, have left the squad looking very thin to say the least, so it will come as a welcome boost to hear that Carroll could well be in line to return to first team action against Fulham in just under two weeks time.
If that is that case, Carroll will have been out for nearly six weeks, which is a lot more than was anticipated at the start I’m sure. The injury has been on the shooting leg of Carroll according to Alan Pardew, which means that he has to be feeling 100% before being thrown back into action.
Speaking to The Journal, Alan Pardew had this to say about Carroll;
“We need one or two to come in, or one or two to come back and we think Andy Carroll looks close. He looks better this week so he has a good chance and could feature at Fulham which would be a massive bonus.”
“There may be another body in over the next ten days, which would be a good lift for everybody.”
After the effort the team have been putting in over the last few weeks it is perhaps understandable that they are jetting off to Portugal for a mid-season training camp in sunnier climbs. They have nearly two weeks off now, so why not rest up and take things easy in preparation for that final push towards the finishing line?
“We are going out to Portugal. We couldn’t train on Friday, it was a beautiful sunny day, but when you haven’t got a heated training ground, which Mike is going to address, you can’t train and we had to go indoors again.”
“We will be away until Thursday to do some morning and afternoon stuff and hopefully show a couple of videos of the last five minutes of matches so we can show them how to see games out.”
Interesting to see that we could be getting a heated training pitch. To be honest it’s something I had never even thought about. I just assumed that the facilities at Darsley Park would have included undersoil heating but apparently not. You learn something new everyday 😀
We’ll have to wait and see who this new face is, if there is a new face. Talk of Stephen Ireland continues, although as yet there appears to be no breakthrough.
is AC not meant to be out for anther two months according to the sun??
we in desperate need of a centre forward who can actually score goals – shola has now proved he is not up to the reqd standard, as if we didnt already know that!!
we need a finisher!!
jettson(Quote)
You answered your own question with the “according to the sun” bit
toonsy(Quote)
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3367093/Newcastle-owner-Mike-Ashley-blows-1m-playing-craps.html
hitman(Quote)
I’ve only seen highlights from Saturday’s game, but Shola looked pretty good to me. A couple of excellent saves kept him out, that’s all. Anyone on here who saw the game and can give an educated view on how he did? Guthrie looked good too – but again, perhaps that was editing? Cracking ball to Colo for the goal.
We do need AC back; both Best and Ranger came so close – but close counts for nowt and I think that’s the difference between them and Andy at the moment.
Hats off to the lads, though – yes, we’ve let 4 points drop in final minutes, but to remain where we are and unbeaten without AC, Tiote and others is a hell of a lot better than I’d expected.
Whumpie(Quote)
So if he does play some part against Fulham, how long does that mean he has been out for now then?
When did he last play, was it Spurs? That was the 28th and Fulham is the 11th Feb so it will be around 6 weeks he would have been out for.
I reckon he had a little tear in his muscle that they didn’t pick up on, seem an awful long time for a ‘strain’
I Love Mike(Quote)
Anyone who has twitter will need to refollow us again using the big twitter icon at the top 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Hitman – I’d blow a million aswell if I had it and it was my money.
toonsy(Quote)
Why don’t the Sun just hire Jackie Collins and the people who do the storylines for their cartoons to do their stories? Couldn’t get any more unrealistic… 🙄
Whumpie(Quote)
RE that sun story
lol, one, it’s the sun, the fact they say he kept £30,000 in a bag just sums it up, the figures are a load of *****.
but two, it’s his money, and not only that, the amounts he probably was puting down would like pennies to him, so who cares.
Can see it now, ‘why isn’t he buying us a left back with that money’ or ‘another example of how he doesn’t care’ lol
We all go to the casino, or put bets on at the match, but we still pay for our heating bills and for holidays don’t we?
I Love Mike(Quote)
one follower on twitter, me, hahaaha
I Love Mike(Quote)
to right toonsy,the rush you would get from it 😯
hitman(Quote)
ILM – I redone it all last night as the feed scrambled 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Hitman – Depends. If it was your last million it wouldn’t be much of a rush 😆
toonsy(Quote)
Good point, Toonsy. As a proportion of his wealth it’s a drop in the ocean compared to what some idiots blow down at the bookies. Somehow I doubt if he gets home and has to explain how he’s blown the week’s food budget.
Whumpie(Quote)
We can be pretty sure it was made up by a hack in a pub over another dodgy whiskey.
Aaaahnyway – tell me about who did well on Saturday, please!
Whumpie(Quote)
whumpie 😀 bet the croupier was buzzing with his 700 quidtip
hitman(Quote)
the whole team Whumpie – they were dead on their feet by the end, when’s the last time we praised NUFC players for putting in that much effort?
Shola was pretty ***** mind 😆
I Love Mike(Quote)
See Ed is still banging on about Seb Larsson 🙄
*Stalker alert*
toonsy(Quote)
I like what Pardew’s saying in the quotes above. Sounds like pragmatism and a willingness to point out the flaws and sort them out.
I wonder if Carroll’s thinking, “gutted about missing games… but two months getting paid to relax/play in Dubai and then Portugal beats stacking shelves…”
Whumpie(Quote)
Shola only has an hour left him now I’m afraid. Not slagging him because he worked hard for the team, but Leon Best is defnitely looking more dangerous up front 😯
toonsy(Quote)
Perhaps Ed just likes a Nordic twink… 😆
Whumpie(Quote)
Toonsy. What a statement. Stunned. 😯
But good on Besty for bringing it. Let’s hope he keeps improving. Those barn doors can’t keep dodging around for ever. 😈
Whumpie(Quote)
Whumpie – This is why I never get on the back of players who have not really been given a chance 🙂
toonsy(Quote)
Yep, if Besty continues I’ll have been happily proven wrong. It happens. 🙂
By the way – any chance of an article about the Sky pundit clanger? Got to be some good Andy Gray ****-take to be had!
Whumpie(Quote)
Whumpie it’s funny though init 😆
I signed a petition to get them both sacked last night 😀
toonsy(Quote)
Theres nee heating at our training ground? Lol..not that I’d care, buggering off to Portugal for “work” sounds canny appealing right about now like! 😡
Ross(Quote)
If I do one it will be a bit later on 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Newsflash: “Tesco’s, Marks and Spencers, Waitrose and other large supermarkets all withdraw their watermelons from shelves. Each being found with a 1cm diameter bore hole in them, it is believed a girlfriendless saddo has been to find himself a melonfriend and has been romancing in supermarket isles,the police state “an online blogger by the name of Stupot79 is assisting with enquiries”
End of newsflash
Stardust(Quote)
Ross – Aye, tough break isn’t it? It will be for some medical grounds or some such. Vitamin D replenishment or something 😉
toonsy(Quote)
Stardust – Can you not log in right at the bottom of the mobile screen?
toonsy(Quote)
Ross: the perfect solution!
http://www.algorfaholiday.com
Still available for this half-term and for Easter!
Pluggy, pluggy, plug-plug. 🙂
Whumpie(Quote)
Ok, BIG tangent, and a rant: why are the brits so obsessed with going on hols to my place in Spain in the summer, when it’s nice here and often too bleedin’ hot to move out there? Why do they insist on sitting here all winter moaning about the weather, when it’s warm and sunny out there?
Can’t be school hols, because the half terms and Easter often don’t book up either – but summer’s always solid!
We’re an odd lot.
Rant ends.
Whumpie(Quote)
Whumpie – Have you seen how much it costs to holiday in the UK?
toonsy(Quote)
stardust 😆
batty(Quote)
toonsy have you joined the official newcastle facebook ❓
batty(Quote)
Yep, shedloads. Whereas you can get a family of 4 out to Spain, rent a decent car and a very decent house (mine 😎 ) for a week for about £500.
I just don’t get why people don’t just stay at home in the summer and chill out on the cheap while it’s hot and expensive abroad, and get some nice weather elsewhere when it’s crappy here and cheap and warm there. Really baffling.
That said, not sure I can make it myself this half-term. Dosh gone on house move. 🙁
Whumpie(Quote)
Hmm. I appear to have strayed a smidge off subject. Soz. 😳
Whumpie(Quote)
I have now 😆
toonsy(Quote)
toonsy some propper dicks on it
batty(Quote)
Aye Batty, it certainly looks that way
toonsy(Quote)
I would like to see Besty with Carroll…surprising what playing with a confident striker could do for Best! Watching Strolla miss sitter after sitter must be a bit disheartening for any striker alongside him.
Only trouble at moment is Barton plays best in the middle, but is going to be played as a winger judging by the lack of signings.
Barton, Nolan, Vuckic, Guthrie, Gosling, Tiote, Smith that is a lot of central midfielders. Add Ireland to the mix and theres bound to be a few unhappy characters!
…………………..Harps…………………..
Simps…….Wills……..Collo……..Bull
Benny……Barton…Tiote……..Jonas
……………Best……Carroll…………….
Has to be our best starting 11 at the moment but its hard to leave out Nolan with the way he gets the players geared up and his invaluable goals. If anything we need a pacey striker over anything else! We have cover for wings, central mid, defence – full backs a bit iffy but can make do..striking is where we lack! The way Barton and Benny can pick out a pass and with Carrolls flicks a Bellamy type player would be bloody great!
Mikey1412(Quote)
Toonsy – Why can i only get a two inch column down the side of the screen ??
CC(Quote)
******* mobile site… 🙄 😆
CC(Quote)
CC – At the bottom of the screen, click standard. It has switched to mobile site for you.
Did it for me aswell. There was some overnoght problems with the server apparently.
toonsy(Quote)
Stardust
Posted January 24, 2011 at 10:22 AM
😆
El Toro(Quote)
Mikey1412: I’d argue that Besty is our worst misser of sitters up to now. Hopefully that’s changing, but he did it again at the weekend, while Shola hit at least two fantastic strikes from distance which took excellent saves to keep out. That one-touch control and curler from the edge of the box was a fantastic bit of skill.
Usual anti-Shola stuff, but I did only see highlights, so I could well have been given the wrong impression by the MOTD editors. But whatever the case, Besty has a LONG way to go before he’s anything to get excited about. Making progress, though. 🙂
Whumpie(Quote)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1350010/Newcastle-fear-Andy-Carroll-face-months-injury.html
This is despite Pardew saying differently, as stated above 🙄
toonsy(Quote)
Whumpie
When did Best miss a sitter? You can’t seriously be referring to the one that hit the crossbar.
El Toro(Quote)
That one from three yards out? Yep, that.
Yes, it was a stretch. But that was because, as usual, the guy was in the wrong place. He just doesn’t seem to get into the right spot in the way he needs to at this level. Lovenkrands was guilty of the same when Ranger’s cross/shot went just wide.
As I’ve said – don’t write the guy off, because he seems to be progressing, but he is a long, long way off what he needs to be, Let’s face it – apart from the Hammers game, he’s not exactly set the world alight yet, has he?
Whumpie(Quote)
Toonsy: Daily Mail in Inaccurate Reporting Shocker!
Whumpie(Quote)
The one from three yards…At an angle, on the volley, with the defender putting serious pressure on 🙄
Any striker would find a chance like that difficult to direct back towards goal, let alone work the keeper, or even score.
You say he wasn’t in the right place, but IMO he looked pretty well positioned to me.
The thing that annoys me about Amoebi is his inability to head the ball. Why can’t he direct a header towards goal!? It’s pathetic for a striker that big to be so poor at directing headers.
El Toro(Quote)
Perhaps I’m being harsh on Bestie, but to me he always looks to be hitting the bar, or going just wide, or just over, or is just off-balance, or wrong-footed, or a yard short of being able to collect the ball, or whatever. Sum total: no goals apart from one purple patch against WHU.
Whumpie(Quote)
From what I have seen, Best has played well against West Ham, Tottenham and the second half against Sunderland.
El Toro(Quote)
Can’t really argue with his lack of goals, but where you see those nearly situations as a negative, I prefer to draw positives from them. He just needs a little bit more luck imo.
El Toro(Quote)
just googled – apartments in spain – & was directed here !!!!
is there some sneaky ba@tard advertising gannin on like or wot ???
roy cropper(Quote)
No Toonsy – I can’t even see it – the site used to autolog me in – I am trying to enter this now without putting my name in – just to see if I am logged in but can’t see it
Stardust(Quote)
Aye, Roy – guilty. 😳
Whumpie(Quote)
ROY cant turn your back on that batty m8 😉
icedog(Quote)
Just to be clear Toonsy – it looks like the site autologs me in – but doesn’t show I am logged in as Stardust – as I didn’t put a name in the text box on this or the previous entries!
Stardust(Quote)
El Toro – you’re quite right. I don’t see them as negative because he does seem to be getting closer! I just don’t think he’s all that good a bet next to AC just yet.
Mind you, Shola with AC has the problem of them both going for the same spot. Great minds (in football terms) think alike and all that, but it doesn’t work so well for strike partnerships!
I wish Lovenkrands could up his game a bit. He’s almost exactly what we need; just not quite good enough at it at present. Just need someone to do the job while Ranger hones his skills a bit.
Whumpie(Quote)
Stardust – I’m asking a few questions with the developers of that Wapple to see if I can make a few changes to it so bear with it.
toonsy(Quote)