Game On! Newcastle v Aston Villa

toonsy

Game On at Newcastle
Good afternoon and welcome to the one and only ‘Game On’ article which this week will feature the visit of Aston Villa to St James’ Park.

I know we spannered them 6-0 last season and in some way it compensated for their tw*tish behaviour upon our relegation, but the wounds run deep with me. I know too many Villa fans and not many of them are high on my Christmas Card list so I’d love us to give them another going over.

That’s just my personal circumstance though. I’d take three points however they come right now as we have eyes, at least for now, on a bigger prize. That prize being a rather surprise stab at European qualification via the league, and not the Fair Play league either!

A win will take us back into 5th place in the table. A significant win for us and a significant loss for Chelsea could see us in the top four come the end of play today. The maths involved means it’s unlikely, but I’ll be happy enough with 5th place anyway and a Tottenham victory over Liverpool. That’s the ideal world though…

Enough waffle!

If you wish to read yet another cracking match preview courtesy of Shamrock then click here. Alternatively, or supplementary, you can have a look at the numbers involved with another one of NUFC_stats fantastic ‘Stat Attacks’ by clicking here. They are both well worth a few moments of your time.

The good new for fans not lucky enough to be in attendance today is that the match is live on Sky. For those who don’t have Sky there are plenty of overseas channels showing the game so the chances of a stream are looking pretty **** good. Should you happen to stumble across a rather good link please feel free to share it with your fellow NUFC fans and put the link in the comments section below.

That just about wraps it up and now it’s up to the boys in black and white to do the rest of talking. Will Demba Ba score on his return? Will Papiss Cisse notch a debut goal? Well we shall soon find out…

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Tim Krul; Danny Simpson, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini (c), Davide Santon; Ryan Taylor, James Perch, Danny Guthrie, Jonas Gutierrez; Leon Best, Demba Ba

Subs: Rob Elliot, Shane Ferguson, Dan Gosling, Gabriel Obertan, Hatem Ben Arfa, Shola Ameobi, Papiss Cisse

Aston Villa: Shay Given; Richard Dunne, Carlos Cuellar, Stephen Warnock, Alan Hutton; Stiliyan Petrov, Ciaran Clark, Charles N’Zogbia, Stephen Ireland; Robbie Keane, Darren Bent,

Subs: Brad Guzan, Emile Heskey, Eric Lichaj, Nathan Baker, Barry Bannan, Andreas Weimann, Gary Gardner

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.

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484 thoughts on “Game On! Newcastle v Aston Villa”

  1. But in my opinion JJ for Benny its almost finish here at Newcastle and i think its better for Newcastle and for him. He doesn’t fit in this style of play. I think in term of play we were very poor today we have 3 actions we score 2 because we have now 2 top scorer and we have JESUS KRUL who saved us. But our style is not very pleasant to look.

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  16. Who’d have thought that James Perch would be the answer to Tiote being out. Thought he and Guthrie were great today.

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  18. Santon our MOTM and obertan was amazing today love Cisse already and its good to have the Ba back

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  19. it will be mybe the first time in my life that i will support Manu hope a win against Chelsea, shame on me

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  21. HBA stop throwing you toys out of the pram lad! HBA did not play because he has been dodgy lately. He was out for a long time and it wont come back for him overnight, if ever. He will have to be patient and learn to be a team player.

    Villa are better than their position in the league suggests, some very good players. Today was a good game and it was a well earnt win. Benny might have made us look prettier, but he would probably have gave the ball away too often too and left us exposed, costing us a goal.

    He’ll get more games, but he has to accept he is not our most important player – and so do you HBA39! 😉

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  25. What’s the word on Raylor? He looked in very bad shape. Hope he’s okay. And how about Best?

    Great result for us but, in truth, we could have lost that or only got the draw.

    What explains our trouble at the back?

    Guthrie was excellent today.

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  30. And Cisse is supposed to be totally right footed! What a finish, thats what costs a lot of money. Hopefully the start of a glorious relationship. Haha villains you sad bastards. 😀

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  32. That was a class performance second half , Perch and Guthrie did themselves proud and this squad is capable of top 6 no doubt about it now . Man of the match for me was Guthrie . Thought Obertan looked a totally different player today he tracked back well and helped his fullback out a fair few times . Well done the lads.

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  33. Superb win, we looked drained as a team but they stuck at it, we have got to retain possession better but you cannot fault our commitment and what a winner, got to be the best debut goal i have seen since Supermac v Liverpool.

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  34. Any supporter lucky enough to be sitting behind the nets when that Cisse goal went in will treasure that for the rest of their natch.

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  35. Special mentions to Perch, who had a much better second half and Obertan who was always looking for the ball and took loads of pressure of the other midfielders.

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  36. 13 more games left lets get 20 more points out of them and fly into europe!!

    a massive congrats to perch and cisse today unreal

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  37. DANISHTOON
    February 5, 2012 at 15:33
    Bad game, but a Nice win!!
    I like our new number 9

    ????????????? what????????????????

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  38. a bad game?? our new number 9 to score the winner and 3 points?? a bad fecking game?? i would hate to see what you would say if we lost!!

    GET IN NEWCASTLE!!!!!!!!!

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  40. Shamrock, i think you can keep your advice for you. Because your comments about Benny have been almost all the time **** and the same because you take his career and say ok he was most of the time used as a sub.. and this kind of bulsshit, and today you think Oba had a good game, ok if for you winger must just defend, its your opinion about football i respect that its not my opininon for me the best winger in the pitch today was Nzogbia.
    And i think at the end of the season if he is not in the french team for the Euro he will leave, and i m sure about that.

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  41. Im purring at the thought of getting Cabaye and Tiote back. Just praying we dont pick up any more injuries. The two we lost today we can cover for and I thought Obertan had a really good game when he came on, but we are definately walking a tightrope if we pick up any serious injuries in any of the other positions.

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  42. Foe once i agreed it waould be right to put benny on as lately he has been giving the ball away cheaply and we needed alot of possesion to win today! tactics right today pardew , well done

    hope raylor and best are ok!!

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  47. i agree ice , the whole team played well!! harder game next weekend but cisse and ba’s confidence will be so high so i say we have a chance if we defend well

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  48. army 69
    I agree to i say when the game starts that the starting XI was the right one today with respect to past peformances from each player. tactic was completely right today even if we were dominate in terms of net occasions.

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  49. 😆 😆 😆 HBA39 😆 😆 😆

    Yesterday I recommended him for the 1st team mate, however not in a 4-4-2, which is not suited to his game. My stats about him being a sub most of his career is not made up. It’s a FACT. There is a reason for that. Get you head out his **** mate. I bet you have his posters all over your bedroom and a shrine to him in your living room. Almost every comment you make it designed to strengthen your case that HBA should be in the team. Utter rubbish. You are too biased and cannot see the bigger picture.

    Talk about head in the clouds 🙄

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  53. off topic but seen this in sunday sun today …The contract of right-back Tavernier is also up for renewal at the end of the season, but he WON’T be among those leaving in the summer.

    The 20-year-old will be rewarded with a new contract in the next few weeks as recognition for his development this season.

    He is currently on loan at MK Dons after spells with Sheffield Wednesday and Carlisle this season.

    “James is staying at this football club,” Pardew told the Sunday Sun.”

    “He will be at this football club next year – 100 per cent.”

    and well done to the lad a credit to our club and academy system …..hope more young players will go out and earn their wings at lower leagues!!!!!
    …look forward to see him next season!

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  54. Much improved second half and Perch and Krul were brilliant. Also really impressed with Obertan today and as for Ba and Cisse ,one word CLASS. 😀

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  56. the starting line-up was too conservative and we only improved after Raylor’s injury, Obertan giving the side more balance. Good subs tho!

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  57. Glad to see they listened to my half time evaluation and responded.

    Guthrie looking a good player and Cisse and Ba look good together.

    On a more negative point, Krul had far too much to do and Given didn’t have hardly anything to do. But that’s for another day, we won and deserved it on 2nd half showing.

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  58. HBA

    Benny needs to learn to use his skill at the right time, and when to just pass the simple ball.
    He can also learn a lesson from the way Obertan tracked back and defended.

    If he can work hard on these aspects of his game, he will come good and be a very important player. What he mustn’t do, is think he is too good to learn.

    Pardew is right when he says HBA needs to improve his play off the ball.

    If he does, with Ba and Cisse in front of him. He could be very very dangerous.

    When Tiote and Cabaye get back, we will be looking forward to seeing a much much more attractive brand of football to watch.

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  59. Though we won the performance lacked maturity. It is always a great sign when both your strikers score. Orbatan was great, Sandton fantastic, Colo and williamson looked dodgy at times.

    Ba and Cisse back from a terrible Af cup of nations to both score. Great composure and finishing. Guthrie looked good but he had most of our possession today so plenty of opportunity to shine. Taylor also looked Good.

    Pardew needs to study opposition videos before we play them or if he does he does not know what he should look for.

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  62. Injury list oe unavailable players:

    Steven Taylor, Ryan Taylor, Cheik Tiote, Yohann Cabaye, Sylvain Marvaeux, Leon Best.

    When we get Tiote and Cabaye and Marveaux back, we will be looking very good.

    * Forgot to mention, I though Williamson looked very good today too.

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  66. Shamrock,
    its exactly what i sayed. Now we will always play 4-4-2, so that doesn’t fit to Benny, so he will leave thats enough. I don’t have poster of him or nothing but the main difference between you and me is I played football at goog level semi professional and I know what is really difficult to do in a game, and this boy try always the difficult things eliminates opponent, make a decisive pass in the hole and that gives me emotion and its why in all the clubs where he has played the fans loved him a lot. Me jonas, Oba, Best, Shola really give me no emotion because they are too predictable, they almost never eliminates an opponent or make a good difficult pass. And you never played football i think when i see your comments you just try to think as football manager but even that you don’t know how think a football manager.

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  69. Michael 12

    Mate, I’ve read a few of your posts on here mate, and no offense, but you talk a load of **** most of the time…

    “Guthrie looked good but he had most of our possession today so plenty of opportunity to shine”

    Um… ye, there is a reason he had a lot of possesion, its called looking for the ball, its what a midfield playmaker is supposed to do, and he did it brilliantly, its not circumstance.

    The performance lacked maturity?

    Um.. it didn’t help that we are missing three regular starters from our midfield, one of our main defenders and its the first time ever our front two and middle two have ever played together.

    “Pardew needs to study opposition videos before we play them or if he does he does not know what he should look for.”

    What exactly did he miss? His tactics were spot on today.

    “Williamson and Colo looked dodgy at times”

    The had Bent, N’Zogbia, Robbie Keane and Steven Ireland to deal with? They are going to make all defenders have some dodgy moments. But apart from Villa’s goal which was a very good one. We looked solid.

    If no defender ever made any error, there would never be any goals scored. 🙄 🙄 🙄

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  71. HBA39 I sort of agree with you, as i’ve said many times before Benny is the only player that can change the game in a heart beat, and lots of fans are wanting him to work harder but imo he isn’t that type of player, just like Ginola and Robert but like Benny you never know when they’re going to do something special 😉
    I love players that work their socks of for the team, but it’s nice to have a bit of luxury aswell

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  72. Same old heads going up for criticism it seems. I thought Willo did very well today, put in some crucial tackles and must have cleared our area with headers about twenty times. Great work from him I thought, saved Colo on a few occasions as well.

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  73. The ref was not protecting our players today. Villa had license to foul in my opinion.

    I was actually glad when Shola came on. He calmed the game down and got us across the line.

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