Game On! Blackburn v Newcastle

Game On at Ewood Park
Welcome one and all to our famous ‘Game On’ article which will take us through every twist and turn of the trip to Ewood Park this evening.

Newcastle have been disappointing in the last couple of games, or in the last game and a half I should say perhaps. They were excellent in the first half at Fulham but ever since that they’ve kind of fallen asleep.

If they can’t motivate themselves after a humiliating FA Cup exit to Brighton at the weekend then I don’t know what else would do it. I expect to see nothing less than a committed and passionate performance from the players to go some way towards making up for that dismal loss, and the dismal second half against Fulham. They owe it to us and they owe it to themselves.

Anyway, motivational speak over we move onto a bit of team news. The full teamsheet is below and will be updated as and when it becomes available, but one name we won’t see is Yohan Cabaye who sits out after being banned for three games earlier on today. For more injury news and team news you can always peruse Shamrock’s fantastic match preview by clicking here.

It’s looking hopeful for a TV stream also. Several overseas channels are broadcasting the match so the likelihood of a stream is pretty good. As ever, if you stumble across a good one please feel free to leave a link to it in the comments section below.

That just about wraps it up. Here’s hoping for three points tonight, or at the least a greatly improved performance the boys paid handsomely to represent Newcastle United.

Howay the lads!

Blackburn: Paul Robinson, Jason Lowe, Gael Givet, Scott Dann, Martin Olsson, Junior Hoilett, Radosav Petrovic, Steven N’Zonzi, David Dunn, Morten Gamst-Pedersen, Anthony Modeste

Subs: Mark Bunn, Mauro Formica, Ruben Rochina, Grant Hanley, Adam Henley, Jordan Slew, Simon Vuckevic

Newcastle: Tim Krul, Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini (c), Davide Santon; Hatem Ben Arfa, Ryan Taylor, Danny Guthrie, Jonas Gutierrez; Leon Best, Shola Ameobi

Subs: Rob Elliot, James Perch, Shane Ferguson, Dan Gosling, Mehdi Abeid, Gabriel Obertan, Peter Lovenkrands

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.

578 thoughts on “Game On! Blackburn v Newcastle

  1. Wolfie518- I wait for F.A punishment with baited breath 😆 😆 😆 even phil thompson said he should hang his head in shame and he was slagging us off all night. It must really stick in his claw to see us above his beloved Bindippers 😈

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  2. MORENO, yes it’s blatant cheating and Dowd knew it as well but Dowd wasn’t gonna book Hoilett for diving because he had his prey in Ryan Taylor for telling Hoilett what he thought of him.

    I knew Dowd would give Blackburn a penalty sooner or later and also If Pardew hadn’t changed Raylors position, Dowd would have sent him off , so I’m pleased Pardew done what he done.

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  3. A couple of us on here (Toonsy was one I remember) tried to calm the hysteria some fans on here placed on HBA from his arrival right through his injury. We were of course labelled as Ben Arfa haters when it wasn’t that at all. NUFC fans really went crazy about him and I think it has been detrimental to his playing time with us.

    That’s when fan over zealous fan support doesn’t help sometimes and of course it’s quite rare but we knew this boy had an ego before he got here.

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  4. fsotc – nah he says he isn’t like that anymore.
    He will just go along with Pardew. Moreso that we won.
    He has no arguement really.

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  5. KIMTOON, you’re right Kim he should hang his head and I bet nothing gets done either about it.
    Hoilett has just went down the toilet in my opinion the cheating little ******* arsewipe bog roll faced izalite. 😀

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  6. Keith@521- Ah yes the good old testimonial ,don’t see many of them no more, not enough loyalty from players to stick at a club and too many owners out to make a fast buck from players as well .

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  7. MORENO @530 – Again I agree. It must be hard for the lad. The only issue for me is that he now knows the fans like him and with his apparent ‘attitude problem’ I wonder whether he will start to get a little annoyed at seeing the likes of Shola getting more game time than him. I honestly don’t seem him staying longer than the summer as I can’t help but think that he believes he should play a pivotal role in our team and sooner or later he is going to have to accept that he doesn’t. We just don’t play the style of football that will bring the best out of him.

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  8. gary@526 , If shola had 5 and a half testimonials he may score 1 goal , or if he had 20 testimonials he would play 1 blinder 😀

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  9. Well it was far from a convincing performance but the 3 points will do nicely 😀 Pleasing to bag the points after the FA cup disappointment and collapse at Fulham. Takes us up to 5th, who knows, with Ba and Cisse due back, we may be able to make a real push for the top 6, we’ve managed to amass a decent points total without the duo and it’s nice to see our main goal threat return. I’ll admit, I was annoyed at Pardew’s decision to take Ben Arfa off as he is our most creative player but Perch certainly tightened things up a bit. In the first half we gave Blackburn far too much space and they were creating chances at ease. My MOM has to be Collocini, we’d simply be lost without the man, it’s becoming a cliche now!

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  10. Pardew :- “”Great credit to the players and particularly to James Perch. I left him out even though he was excellent at Brighton.

    “But he came into the midfield for the second half and we looked a lot stronger in there.”
    .
    JP is stepping up and showing he is improving as a versatile player in defence.
    What more can we ask than a player to give 100% and learn from his mistakes.
    Well done JP

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  11. You can’t buy confidence for a player and any player that gets stick like Perch has and yet still comes in to the fold at any position asked and does what’s asked of him with a steely attitude, is worth his weight in gold.

    The lad made a few mistakes early on in his career with us and the mud stuck.
    He’s made a few mistakes since but no more than any player in the team, yet his is magnified x100.

    One thing you get from the lad, is 100% commitment to the task and his willingness to take on and learn any role afforded to him is a bonus to the team.
    Player like Perch are what makes quality teams keep ticking when injuries and suspensions occur.

    Full credit to the lad.

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  12. Am I right in thinking that if two teams who have already qualified for Europe were to meet in the FA Cup final then 7th place in the Prem would also qualify?

    Just checking as that 9pt gap looks great!a

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  13. who cares about 7th .
    rofl
    thats for Arsenal and the bindippers to fight over.
    we are 5th in the league, we are 5th in the league :D:
    woooo hooo hooo hooo

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  14. AYE,boots, all we have to do from now on is do better or the same as those below us and we guarantee 5th, unless we better chelsea and finish 4th lol
    Or do a Man Utd and catch Tottenham and finish 3rd. 😆

    Ok I better chill out here. 😆

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  15. All we need to do is put 12 goals past villa on sunday and we could go 4th.
    :mrgreen:
    lol 😯
    but any win would secure us in 5th place
    Howay the Lads.

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  16. chelsea have to play manure on sunday
    and spurts play cesspool.
    We deffo have an oportunity…………………. 😆

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  17. Think I’d rather have 5th over 4th right now…
    I say that only because 4th still have to play a qualifier or two for Champions League, but 5th is guaranteed UEFA. Although…if 4th loses in qualifying, do they get UEFA as well? I didn’t think so, but maybe I am wrong.

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  18. Well the dog is safe for another day, job done against a desperate side with our makeshift lineup. I for one thought Shola did well tonight and I can’t understand the hell he’s been getting just for the sake of it, he is what he is and tonight he did a good job. obertan as a striker eh? Not a bad finish that was it? we can play like that any time for me.

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  19. 6th would have to pinch a Euro spot first as only 5th qualifies for a Europa place solely on league position, 6th and 7th would need other variables that I can’t be arsed working out 😕

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  20. NorCal…but 4th would help attract a better quality of player and to keep those you already have……*disclaimer* I don’t actually think we’ll finish 4th, top 6 and I’ll be owa the moon. :mrgreen:

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  21. Reet…I’m away to kip, wor lass thinks I’m looking at porn when I have the laptop in bed….as if!! 😯 😆

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  22. I didnt follow the game to wait and watch football first. Must admit we were very poor tonight. But its a sign of a good team to get a result whilst playing poor. We really miss Tiote / Cabaye and I hope Ba and Cisse can ignite us upfront as we are a bit toothless at the moment. Thougjt Obertan offers something we dont have is pace.

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  23. Richie, a Newcastle win could be considered porn to some…or at least material to make you “excited.”

    Also, I agree with post at @562, just hate the “chance” involved with qualifying…prefer guarantee instead.

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  24. My 2nd birthday wish fulfilled. 😆 😆

    Newcastle leapfrog Arsenal,liverpool to 5th position.

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  25. One last thing.. Lovenkrands worked his socks off. Really should have had a chance before now in all these games with Dumb and Dumber up front. And neither of them have scored! 👿

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  26. Didn’t watch the game, but WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOJJJJJJJHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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  27. Missed the game tonight as was working but highlights and comments suggest we were lucky, or is grinding results out not what good teams do? On HBA don’t know why you are all getting your knickers in a twist. He’s obviously got ability. He’s only recently been back from a year out with injury so is settling in,he’s played a couple of different roles, not playing with the most mobile strike force imaginable. Battling away performances at the likes of Blackburn are never going to be his strongpoint. People forget this is really only his first year in the premiership. Time to judge is certainly not now. Give him a full pre season and by the end of next year we can judge. PATIEANCE.

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  28. rory–good points. There’s some evidence mounting in the negative column for HBA, along with a fair few positives, but it’s still very early days and far too soon to write the kid off.

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  29. Anyone read about news of a massive clear-out of reserves squad and potentially scrapping off the reserves team youths? 😯

    Unsuccessful previous acquisitions told that they won’t receive new contracts include Swedish goalkeeper Ole Soderberg and his fellow countryman Samuel Adjei, Faroe Islander Joan Edmundsson and Hungarian defender Tamas Kadar – the latter of whom was on the bench at Brighton.

    Local lads left looking for new clubs meanwhile include strike trio Phil Airey, Ryan Donaldson and Dan Taylor, midfielder Greg McDermott and defenders Patrick Nzuzi, Jeff Henderson, Stevie Folan and James Tavernier.

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  30. Escaping the cull are the currently injured Brad Inman, Conor Newton and Michael Richardson, while fit-again defender Paul Dummett also comes into that category.

    Overseas players Mehdi Abeid, Haris Vuckic Yven Moyo and Shane Ferguson are already on longer contracts at SJP.

    That leaves players such as Alex Baird, Jak Alnwick, Alex Nicholson, Remi Streete, and Adam Campbell to form the basis of a more youthful reserve side – unless there’s a change of emphasis and players not in our first XI are fielded regularly in second string league games.

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  31. If Liverpoop qualify for europe via the league and win the league cup, then 6th in the league will qualify for europe.

    If the Fa Cup final is contested between two sides already qualified for Europe it will drop to 7th in the league.

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