Same again against Tottenham?

Last time out against Tottenham
As you all know by now, I hate international breaks, especially when it interrupts a fine run of NUFC form.

Still, I guess it’s part and parcel of the fixture calendar so we must put up with it, even though I have little interest in the England national team at the moment. It seems as though I’m not the only one with that view judging by Jobey07’s article the other day.

Anyway, thankfully it’s all nearly over and we can get back to what makes us all tick on a daily basis. That being Newcastle United of course. Let’s face it, they are the reason why we are on this site, right?

The Sky pantomime will rock into Newcastle over the weekend and the attention will be on St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon when Tottenham Hotspur roll into town, with both sides looking to continue a fine run of form.

Some fans have dubbed this our ‘first real test’ which I disagree with as I believe that every game is a test. I kind of get what they are saying though although perhaps they way they say it needs adjusting. Still, it’s a game against a top team who are in form which will gauge just where we are as a team in comparison to those who should be operating near the top of the table come May.

One of the big questions for me is the team selection though. Do we stick with the team that has done do well over the last few games? Or do we recognise a need to shake things up a bit on the grounds that each team we come up against requires a slightly different approach?

Either way Alan Pardew is potentially damned. Stick with the same team and lose and he’ll come under criticism for not changing things. Likewise if a switch is made and we lose the game the criticism will be for changing the team. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but who’d be a football manager eh?

Of course some changes could be forced upon us depending on injury. At the moment fingers and toes are crossed regarding Yohan Cabaye and all eyes will be on him tomorrow evening to see whether or not he plays for France, but we have other players who are away on international duty who I’m sure we all want to see return unscathed. There are rumours of a knee injury for Demba Ba but at the moment everything looks fine although obviously things can change.

Providing they don’t change, and providing everyone is fit to face Spurs, what team would you go with? The same team? Or would you be tempted to freshen things up a bit? Of course it will be Hatem Ben Arfa who will likely be the subject of much tactical tinkering, but we also have Davide Santon looking like he is ready for a debut and Sylvain Marveaux who continues to impress.

Personally I’d be tempted to keep things as they are for the start of the match and name the same side that won at Wolves nine days ago. That way changes could be made as we go.

What team would you go with though?

P.S – Tenuous link alert. The chances are that before the Tottenham game we’ll have hit the 1,000,000 visitors since we switched from .info to the now familiar name of nufcblog.co.uk back at the start of March. In just over six months, and for a site which is still new, that is fantastic going.

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.

115 thoughts on “Same again against Tottenham?

  1. N17 here,

    first of all I would like to congratulate all the Geordy outfits, you guys are literally flying. I sincerely hope you beat all the top clubs {bar spurs} , not just for our sake, but if I could choose a club that finishes in the 5th, in a heart beat t would be the boys from the north in black/white…

    on sunday:
    I believe new castle, is an attacking team and we are an attacking team, lets face it, we are better in this department, unless new castle does a stoke, we will most likely come away with 3 points..and people, Tottenham is not just Bale, ..soon we will have an English version of bale…kyle walker as a winger anyone?

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  2. there are only 3 times that are gonna beat us at st james this year and there the ones above us in the table now

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  3. a win would be class, 18 points on the board and just another 22 to get to be safe, i,m just hoping AP plays full strength team for cup now we,re in last 16, would love a trip to wembley, come on the toon

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  4. well playing blackburn in the next round was one of the better draws that came out that should be us in the quaters

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  5. RICH G: Ta for that, fella – it was all far too sensible and polite for minute! 😆

    But seriously – have you ever seen such an informed and polite exchange between fans from teams about to play? Amazing.

    It’s also been a while since I’ve heard the “2nd favourite team” thing. I’ve missed it!

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  6. I have to say, it’s great to see so many sensible Spurs fans on here with friendly banter on both sides. Our games are usually pretty good – lets hope for another good game on Sunday.

    I have a question – someone mentioned the size of the pitch. I’d have thought the size of the pitch should be the same everywhere and governed by the FA?? Is this not the case? Are the various pitches really different sizes? (Forgive my ignorance on this)… LOL

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  7. Shanghai – There are minimum and maximum dimensions for pitches, and those sizes are different again when Europe comes into it 😉

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  8. Fair play to the Spurs supporters on here. Best visiting lot we’ve had on here I reckon (Rich G aside, tho I expect he’s a makem). If Mark’s about perhaps A View From the Away End with one of these chaps is in order

    My dislike ‘arry aside, I admire Spurs style of play and think that they are the club we would do best to emulate from a business perspective. They have proven you don’t have to be Big 4 rich to qualify for the CL with smart buys and reinvestment of sale money. Obviously we’ve got the first down but need to work on the latter

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  9. i,d rather see spurs in the top 4 than liverfool, we need liverfool to fail so they can come in and buy ba for 60 mill lol

    i don,t think rich g is a makem coz he can spell

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  10. Yep, you have to respect what Spurs have achieved without the use of some amoral sugar daddy paying for it. Good style of play, too.

    And the best thing about them is… they’re not Arsenal. :mrgreen:

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  11. Whats going on with both HBA and Gosling, how long does it take for HBA to achieve fitness ?
    He certainly aint gonna get fit sitting on the bench and whats up with Gosling, thought he was our Cabaye/Tiote reliever, now we want to put him out on loan, dont get it ?
    Pardew is probably afraid to change an undefeated side, but may have to if Cabaye is unfit.

    This is my choice for the Spurs game,

    *************Krul************
    Simpson***********Santon
    *******Taylor***Colo*******
    ************Tiote***********
    Jonas**Cabaye**Marveaux
    ********Best***Ba************

    HBA to sub for Cabaye
    Obertan to sub for either winger
    Gosling to sub for Tiote
    Perch to sub across the back four
    Goalie

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  12. I am very worried about this game. spurs are in fine form and having watched the liverpool and arsenal game, I am quite impressed with their attacking options: Adebayor, Bale, Van der Vaart, Modric… We are in fine form as well though and at home, but I would be very happy with a draw on sunday.

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  13. Have to say I like the look of Cabaye and Ben Arfa. Newcastle too has always been a difficult place to play. This game will be a test of both our credentials. 😉

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  14. by the way i think im gonna s*** my pants on sunday i havent been to newcastle yet but i hear its a great ground but why do you put us away fans up the top guarentee i will throw up as well jesus christ
    still if i manage to watch the game from up there i think it will be a good open game but i see us winning given our recent run of form 1-3

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  15. Have to say though lads. Any ideas as to what’s gone wrong with Carroll. 😯 I thought he’d hit the ground running at Liverpool.

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  16. josh i,m sure you,ll enjoy your time at st james park, hope your wrong about the score though, i fancy us to nick it 2-1

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  17. Chuck – Gosling has done well for the reserves, but he’s been pipe whenever I’ve seen him in real life. Did he play at Forest? His name was on the teamsheet But I couldn’t see him…

    Thing with both of them is that they have spent over a year out of the game.

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  18. Foggy…..it’s probably Judas’s guilt weighing down on his treacherous shoulders……..I’m not bitter though 😉

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  19. done better since getting rid of carroll 35mil happy days for what he has done at liverpool

    newcastle fans are probably the most vocal in the country from what ive seen when you have come to our place cant wait to hear 55,000 geordies sing gonna be a great atmosphere with over 3,500 spurs fans there

    could win 2-1 our record at your place is not special buts it gotta to end sometime i just hope its on sunday

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  20. Congrats on the site, toonsy!

    I would be tempted to stick to the same team, maybe just bring Santon in. I can see it being a close game, part of me wont be too fussed if we end up taking a point away from the game. Tottenham are going to be in the top 6 come the end of the season so it has to be looked at as a tough game.

    I think we have had a few tests this year already, Arsenal at home and Sunderland away come to mind.

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  21. Noochassle certainly punched above their weight so far and Spurs started awfully mostly down to injuries to key players (9 to be precise) but on a serious note this Spurs team is a lot better in terms of quality,class and experience to the previous CL qualifying team, this game will be won and lost in midfield area,I strongly believe that Redknapp will play both Parker and Sandro behind Modric with Bale,VDV or now fit again Lennon on either flanks..as some bright spark above talked about Noochassle running Spurs midfield to ground, I think he should look at the depths as well as capabilities of both midfields ,Spurs will stop most of the opposition passing the ball in the midfield,paralyze their opponents, which will make Spurs win this 1-2 or 1-3 ..and the other bright spark calling Spurs defenders tank like, I think anyone calling King,Kaboul,Walker and Assou Ekotto tank needs his head tested on a serious level..you are talking about possibly the paciest,quickest defence in Premiership, letting 10 goals in so far and 8 of those in the first two with a makeshift midfield of Kranjcar,Livermore,Modric, since King,Parker in the side Spurs actually conceded least number of goals in Premiership, only 2 and 3 clean sheets..Spurs will win on Sunday.

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  22. I think carroll will come good soon hes a good footballer and it will only ever be a good deal getting 35 mill if we ever see it spent on players otherwise its not a good deal and it might as well have been 35 pence ! we have a really good record against spurs and long may it last it was a very late goal that got them a point last season at sjp i think a 1 nill win to the toon with colo getting it but seriously it will be a big test .

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  23. As a Spurs fan, I obviously want us to win on Sunday, but this match is a big test for both teams. On paper I believe that we have by far the stronger team but on the pitch your great fans can certainly make an impact to the way your team plays.
    This game is going to be tight, as I don’t think you will risk a 4-4-2, but try and do what Arsenal did and stifle the midfield, which would be a shame for open attacking football, but it’s all about points.
    I still predict a Spurs win.

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  24. One of the problems with defending against Spurs is if you try to stifle Bale you open the right wing for walker (or if he is off looking after his new bubs) maybe Lennon. in the middle we have VDV or Defoe and Ade so if they all play in place defenders have a hell of a time being unable to back each other up because it would leave a player open. in our center Parker or Sandro are holding up loads and this leaves modders free to flick the ball to anyone unmarked…
    N’castle have done seriously well so far and I am looking forwards to this game. As someone said before this game will be a catalyst to either team as a win for Spurs will push us level with you barring the goal diff( however we still have a game in hand over all other teams barring Everton). It is refreshing to see a decent crowd of supporters after our last game…
    (there are some OK gooners .. honest I saw at least one).

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  25. I think if we play 4-4-2 we will be undone. I know it’s at home, but their attack is too strong for us I fear. We will be exposed at full back and tun ragged through the midfle with the likes of Adebayor and Modric moving forward. The only way to counter act that and have a nice balance that enables us to progress from defence to attack smoothly is to have a 4-5-1 formation, with 2 midfielders sitting deep to help out defence and one in an advanced role through the middle to link play…. Dont think Ben Arfa is ready at all, missing the Bolton reserve game saw to that, so I would start Marveaux in the advanced midfielder role. He deserves a go… Nothing against Best at the moment, he has done fantastic but would prefer him on the bench with Ba up front on his own – the latter is by miles a better finisher. 🙂

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  26. This game has all the makings of a classic. I can’t see the predicted 1-3 to spurs if defoe starts and we play a stritch 442. I’m a spurs fan and an admirer of VDV. Lets play defoe on the wing and see what he does! Anyway great start to the season for both clubs. Spurs floundered against citeh and united. Very poor performances especially from dawson. Amazes me how he keeps his place really. Big heart blood n guts but is definitely the weak link at the back. Is adebyore about to become the sulky ****** he can be now rednapp is focussed on him? Defoe misses sooo many easy chances surely he has to start on the bench. I noticed someone mention Best. Strange player but this is the type of game he could pop up with an important goal. Tiote is my pick from the toon and if he’s playing well midfield will be an interesting place to be. I expect Parker and Tiote to be a monumental battle in midfield. Our key is modders. If you shut him down spurs will be quietened significantly. Arsenal tried that tho, and I saw many say modders had an off day. However he made many many interceptions and tackles that he then fed VDV who played in Parker and Defoe, amongst others, both to fluff their lines..and that’s our achilles. If we keep missing sitters it usually bites us in the ***. I think the toon will make this our toughest assignment after the united/citeh games. I think the toon will need to work hard off the ball. Spurs hate teams in their face! I wouldn’t be taking a 442 to the toon. I’d go; freidle, bae, king, kaboul,walker, bale,modders,parker,sandro,VDV, ade. Walker acts as a winger, sandro and parker would hard to get past, modders would feed bale and VDV and ade’s movement will open gaps at the back. if the toon meet spurs in a straight out footballing head to head Spurs will take the points. If they graft and upset the team there’s every chance the toon will be the victors. United always beat spurs and they do it by hassling us out of our game. Hard to do for ninety minutes but they can! Can the toon..interesting?

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  27. krul
    raylor-colo-saylor-santon

    cabaye-tiote

    jonas-ben arfa-marveaux

    ba/best

    switch jonas to the right as he will give more cover to ryan taylor and hopefully santon can hold his own against there winger as marveaux looks like a robert sort of player great going forward but doesnt track back much

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  28. As a Spurs fan going to Newcastle always worries me. It’s never an easy game. Form never seems to count for anything. Now that you guys look like a decent PL team again I’m especially worried. I have faith in my team though. I think a lot of people are focusing on Bale. True, on form he can be difficult to stop, but ultimately, if Modric plays well, we almost always win, and it doesn’t matters who that’s against. Plus, generally, if King plays, we win (75% win percentage!)
    Having said that, if you’re playing the pools, this is a good bet for one of your score draws!

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  29. Loving the chat over 5 days before KO, oh how we miss the Prem!

    Both teams (try to) play football in an eye catching way and this is why a lot of neutrals like both teams and there is no animosity – Sky will be loving Sundays viewing figures, should be great game for the purists

    Spurs should win if Harry gets his team right, VDV RM will be a mistake – if he drops either Defoe or VDV we’ll win, if not all 3 results will be possible

    Good luck for the rest of the season

    p.s. have always liked Pardew, think he’s been unlucky previously

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  30. Listen to Lee, he knows his stuff! your going to get a right old spanking when the MIGHTY Tottenham Hotspur come rolling in!
    Can’t wait for Sunday to come, we’re going to wipe the smiles from your faces, crush any dreams you have of you being a top table team and watch you crash back to earth with the realisation of how good you think you are and how good you actually are! COYS!!

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  31. Reports that Adebayor is only 50/50 for the game due to injury which is bad news for Tottenham. Spurs have no cover in the lone striker position so the alternative is one or two strikers barely taller than the matchday mascot trying to make something work against the forces of nature.

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  32. Alright lads? ‘i am not very clued up on individual talents at Newcastle. I have been a Spurs supporter for 26 years. This year, this is the best Spurs team i have seen. Better than any eighties team. Top 4 is a must. I will give you the low down on what to expect on Sunday from Spurs. You probably are not too familiar with Sandro. He is gonna be a big star, just like Modric, Bale and VDV. He will play on Sunday. We will play Parker and Sandro in the middle. With a combo of Bale, Adebayor, Modric, VDV or Lennon leading the attack. If we go 4-4-2 don’t be surprised to see VDV on the bench with Defoe starting and Modric on the right. My prediction, 2-0 to Spurs. Good luck!

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  33. Cant wait to knock the wind out of you windbags.
    Always had overinflated opinions of who you are a 2nd rate team that have won nothing.
    Cup finals all lost……………

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