However it seems to have been a catalyst for some to extinguish any hopes that they may have had for this season based purely on this one result.
Now I’m not suggesting for one moment that everything is fine and well and I know we didn’t exactly cover ourselves in glory at Stamford Bridge, but the result was far from embarrassing and, on another day, we’ have found the back of the net with at least one of our three guilt edged chances that fell to Papiss Cisse and Demba Ba on the night. Another game on another night maybe?
Personally I think a bit of perspective is needed. The mood is down at the moment seemingly, but we’ve mustered three points from our first two league games, and tough league games at that. We beat Tottenham who would have been in the Champions League this season had the other team we have faced thus far not actually won the competition last season.
Surely that isn’t too bad is it?
Chins up. There is plenty of time to go in this season so don’t chuck in all your expectations just yet, especially not based on a loss against the European Champions.
I also understand that a lot of people are less than impressed with our business in this window to date, and with only just over 72 hours of the transfer window remaining some are understandably nervous regarding both incoming AND potentially outgoing transfers having an effect on our season.
Yes I’ll be annoyed (but only with the board for failing to back their manager) if we fail to bring anyone else in and yes I agree that it is leaving us vulnerable to injuries and suspension with our hectic list of fixtures. However, we still have a good team with some cracking players, don’t forget it.
Many of you won;t agree with this of course, but at the end of the day we’ve played two tough games to start the season with. They were never going to be easy, regardless of whether we’d signed five, ten, fifteen players, and I’m happy with the three points we have so far.
The rest can wait until/if/when it happens…
Good article. Not sure why the mood is down except for the typical end of window panic that shows up on here. A draw in Greece was acceptable and a loss at Chelsea was expected. But Spurs was a big win in a toss-up match against a likely rival for end of season position. All in all a positive start for me. Wins Thursday and Sunday going into the int’l break and we’ll be flying
MDS(Quote)
Sounds like I picked a good couple of days to be offline.
For me, all we saw on Saturday was how bloody good Chelski are this season. We looked like a team that’d played two days earlier.
Would I have taken 3 points from those opening two games if offered? Of course I would!
As for transfers, people don’t seem to learn. Precious little happens between the first and last weeks of the windows, especially with our (incredibly successful) recruitment approach. As always, we have to trust that if nobody else comes in it’s because there was no deal going that was worth it and Pards and co decided they’d be better off waiting.
Sorry – I know it’s boring – but it’s true, right?
Whumpie(Quote)
WHUMPIE ime happy with what we have,but your statement about playing two days before doesnt hold water imo it was 9 diff players that played on the sat 😐
icedog(Quote)
Good article, I agree, no need to panic as we’ve got 3 points from two teams that we know will be at the top end of the table come May, that many thought we’d only get 1(or even 0) points from. With regards to the villa match, is it on SKY on Sunday?
andymag(Quote)
Ice
I wrote these on the last article, don’t know if you saw them.
I agree with Ice as I was just about to say the same thing. I can’t believe that Ashley/Llambias would allow Cabaye to go for 15m as reported, it would have to be £22m+ for them to even consider it. Same with toto to all the clubs he’s been linked to.
Quite a few comments on it seemed very sceptical of the goal. Benny managed to do what he did when Bolton had 11 men on the field, in a league where defending is renound for tough, precise tackling compared to the Brazilian league where they allow players lots of space for running past them.
andymag(Quote)
Newcastle fans are so fickle we are either going to win everything after one decent result or we are going to get relegated if we lose one game. We have played 2 of the teams that all of the experts are saying will be in the top 4. Chelsea have spent massively and look like they could win the league. Let’s see what this week brings if we have the same this time next week I for one will be satisfied. Lets get realistic we ain’t going to win the league if we are top 6 I’ll be delighted if we are top 8 I’ll be happy. We do
Geordiedoonsooth(Quote)
Happy with the results so far and will be delighted if we progress in the Europa League and beat Villa – great start to the season.
I think if we can get a striker in and possibly a CB we will be fine and certainly pushing top 6. Have a feeling the Carroll deal may still happen and maybe Douglas with no-one leaving but then I’m an optimist. Hope Edwards is right 😀
Luke Edwards [!]8207;@LukeEdwardsTele
Reliably informed there have been no approaches made for Tiote.Cabaye or Coloccini. As for incomings, it’s all rather cagey from #nufc.
Luke Edwards [!]8207;@LukeEdwardsTele
Instincts tell me #nufc will sign 1 player before window shuts. However, my instincts also said Kara Betany fancied me at school. She didn’t
3hourswasted(Quote)
As ever, the mood going into Friday will be dictated by Thursday’s result, and the mood going into Sunday will additionally be influenced by a thorough and objective analysis of the transfer window.
Sitting here today, we can’t say much beyond the fact that we beat Spurs, who will probably finish above us come May and lost to Chelsea who almost certainly will as well (ahead of Spurs).
Ever since the introduction of transfer windows, we have been whipped into a frenzy, sometimes full of hope, sometimes full of fear. This summer it’s been in equal measures. The impending arrival of the final piece in the jigsaw to shore up midfield and defence has been speculated upon and even the return of the former talismanic number 9 has kept the positive interest going; but of course there is the counterbalance and in the coming days, I am arguably more concerned about possible departures as am excited about arrivals.
In my view we need a full-back and a back-up striker, and if they arrived without departure, our squad would be better. Of course, the worry is that Coloccini, Cabaye and Tiote could all go (unlikely they will ALL go), which would necessitate replacements. Arguably, the club has prepared for Tiote leaving with Bigi & Anitia, but now it seems that the vultures are circling for Cabaye and we would definitely need to be replaced as there is no plan B for him.
Midnight on Friday will bring the answers, but until then, all we can do is sit and wait, oh and ignore the media because the heartening reality is that they are right less than 1% of the time!
Guy Maxwell(Quote)
If Tiote or Coloccini leave, we’re screwed. But for some reason, the idea of Cabaye leaving doesn’t bother me as much as it should. Maybe it’s all those poor, poor corners he took on Saturday. Although I think CB is our biggest need, followed by ST, it just seems like it would make long-term sense to bring in Debuchy. Cabaye would be happy, and we’d be one step closer to building the kind of team that players would have a hard time leaving behind.
Charlie Prince(Quote)
ANDY @5 aye did see it mate but didnt comment as this new thread popped up,seems we agree on the fee carry on,more so when you look at how much henderson cost 20mil plus i know it was l/pool but jabba wont have missed that 😉
icedog(Quote)
Guy
We’ve got Amafilitano and Gosling as backups for Cabaye but I agree we would need an official replacement should he go as those two aren’t anywhere near his class.
andymag(Quote)
True Ice 😉
Charlie
I know we need a CB and definitely need a Striker as we’re very thin up front but the idea of getting Debuchy excited me the most for some reason. I think it would take signing messi upfront and piqué/Subotic at CB to get me excited about those incomings.
andymag(Quote)
on previous threads discussing our “what is deemed a succesful season” most people on here expected a top 8 finish. I dont see why that should change just because we lost to the much improved european champions.
I think we have a better squad this year, even without any extras this week (possibly a reserve striker short, but hey lets give Campbell a go)
Anita for Guthrie
Bigirimana for Smith
Campbell for Best
Amalfitano for Lovernkranz
Marevaux is fit this year
Taylor hopefully stays fit
Gosling should be fitter this season
I know we were a couple short last year, centre half, backup striker, and if these arrive all the better, but we were not a top 5 squad last season, and the aim must be to improve the squad year on year, if we have a one year blip, we should treat it like a one year peak, accept it and keep moving on with a long term policy.
or has the “Pardew’s lost a game, get him out brigade” started early this year.
of course it may all go wrong if £££ signs hit the boardroom later this week and we lose 1 or 2 of our “assets”.
kev(Quote)
As ever, you can only judge the impact when he is replaced – Carroll’s sale was a short term gamble that paid off due to Best’s goalscoring spree, but longer term it financed the acquisition of Cabaye, Tiote, Ba and Cisse. If Cabaye’s sale led to that kind of impact, or even half of it, then we would be delighted.
I would love to think that we can fend off offers until January and add a couple of players, but tick tock goes the transfer clock!
Guy Maxwell(Quote)
@Kev
Good analysis of how our squad can be seen to be at least as good as last year.
The problem is that I imagine that Chelsea’s squad is A LOT better than last year and even the hilarity of Liverpool will probably improve.
So staying as good, probably isn’t enough even if the extent of our expectations are top 6 rather than top 4 (which is probably unrealistic)
Guy Maxwell(Quote)
Andy@12-
I know what you mean about Debuchy. Also, I think there’s something else at play there – players buy into hype as much as fans do. Debuchy is the type of signing that might make other players say “Look at what Newcastle is doing – I want to be a part of that.”
Charlie Prince(Quote)
Fair enough Chelski played well 1st half but the penalty was a dive even though it was a penalty and the Torres goal was more *** than class but Cisse Ba and Ben Arfa could have make them very twitchy by finishing one of our chances.
Some you win some you lose but our team looks like we are in with a shout again this year for sure.
Whoarya(Quote)
Guy
We signed toto before Caroll left. But yeah I agree with what your saying, short term a sale can look terrible and club threatening but really if you look at the long term you will see(provided we get a decent sum for the player that leaves) that the money can be used for new players and advancing the club forward.
andymag(Quote)
yep, as above, I dont think we had a top 5 squad last season, but we over achieved. Chelsea under achieved, so did liverpool, I expect them to be better this year. Everton look strong, but may suffer like us with not many replacements if the first team get an injury, Swansea, dont know, lets see what happens. Spurs and Arsenal will be about the same. So added to the 2 manc sides, there are eight teams (nine including us) who will be in the eupopean mix… I dont think finishing in the top 8 is a disgrace or a failure from where we have come in recent years.
kev(Quote)
Charlie
Your probably right about that. It shows the sort of initiative that encourages the general punter, the media/pundits and more importantly other players to take notice of us.
andymag(Quote)
Silly to compare Newcastle United’s buying with the top six IMO, not just because of resources (which is important) but because of the state of the squads.
Chelsea have bought big but that’s because they’re in the process of rebuilding the Mourinho team – Manchester United should have bought big for the same reason but haven’t (apart from one Freddy Shepherd-style pop-star signing to appease the fans). Arsenal have bought because they’ve lost top talent to bigger clubs – Spurs should be buying for the same reason but haven’t. Liverpool are changing manager every year and starting from scratch each time (as are Sunderland and QPR, the other big spenders.)
None of this applies to Newcastle United. OK there are weaknesses in the first team, at full back especially, and areas without enough cover but overall this is a well balanced and (unlike the other teams that are going through a rebuilding period) YOUNG squad – Colo is 31 (which would still make him practically an apprentice at Chelsea or Man Utd), Shola is in semi-retirement at 30, Guti is 29, Ba and Cisse are 27, everyone else is 26 or younger. That’s a hell of a position to be in and totally different from where Chelsea are. And everyone who’s left since relegation has either gone to worse clubs or retired and already been replaced by better – that’s a totally different position to where Arsenal are as well.
HarryHampton(Quote)
Its been a solid start, The spurs result was excellent, We have the advantage going into thursday with the away goal, The chelsea one was understandable and a good one to get out of the way.
Also like the changes in style with us playing from the back and the signing of anita with the emphasis on controlling midfield.
Like i said the other day everyones raving about swansea but if they had started with spurs and chelsea they would more than likely be rock bottom and odds on to go down…
CC(Quote)
The thing is, I don’t think many of us are asking to have Chelsea-type money spent. I’m normally optimistic and try to be patient with transfers, but the thing that I find annoying is that it doesn’t seem like it would take much to fill holes and improve the squad. By holding on to our current players and spending £5-6m each on a CB, FB and ST, we could be really good and well-covered in each position.
Charlie Prince(Quote)
anyone else think we are playing 4-4-2 to keep Ba happy until the window closes. We really need to go back to 4-3-3 with the success we had with it at the end of last season. At Chelsea it showed Ben Arfa and Jonas are not wingers, and you need wingers for a 4-4-2 to work. If we do go back to 4-3-2-1 (or 4-3-3) if you want to call it that, we dont need an extra striker, as Ba or Cisse will be on the bench. It should be Benny and Marevaux playing either side (or just behind) the 1 striker. Thats my conspiracy theory of why we havn’t bought a back-up striker. we have obertan, Amalfitano and Sammy to cover the 2 runners, leaving ba cisse and shola to fight for the 1 up top place.
kev(Quote)
Also, on topic, the Chelsea game means next to nothing, aside from the missed points. It wasn’t one of our better performances, Chelsea is one of the top 3 or 4 teams in the league, and we still had some chances. On a different day, we easily could have had a draw or a win. I’ve seen stats that show our possession, passing percentages and final third passing totals were all better than in our 2-0 win against them last year. It was disappointing, but that’s it.
Charlie Prince(Quote)
GDS@6 ,Think that’s a bit of a sweeping statement to say we are fickle and think we’ll win everything or get relegated depending on results. I havn’t seen anyone say we’ll be relegated after the Chelsea result. What was anoying was had our finishing been better we could of got something from it. I never expected a win due to them strengthening and the Hazard thing which I knew would be a test for us and was as without Tiote we couldn’t stop him. I’m happy with results so far ,worried by Cisse who looks out of sorts but that could be Ramadan .No my main gripe is the lack of a CB and ST coming in ,I really cannot see it happening at all and it hacks me off no end ,what’s more I don’t feel i’m being inpatient in saying it.
Kev@24, That thought about Ba had actually crossed my mind as well. 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
I’m happy with what we did against Spurs, disappointed with the Greek game, disappointed with the first half of Chelsea but pleased with the second half – so I suppose I’m neither pleased or disappointed so far 😕
I think part of the problem is that the football does get overshadowed a little bit with the transfer window still being open at the moment.
One think that has gripped my **** this week is this ‘playing 3 games in a week isn’t fair’ bollocks!!. 3 games in and Pardew started the excuses after the Chelsea game already.
I think any fan negativity at the mo comes from the lack of signings and speculation of players leaving – particularly as the board are happy to let the world know that our players are for sale.
Also interesting that Pardew has came out encouraging fans to buy tickets for the Villa game?!… wonder if he’s worried the lack of transfer action will see fans stay away.
Sharpy17(Quote)
we have never been strong in defence in my time people say we could be ok if we didont get a cb in as we have willo and perch. perch is not a cb willo is ok playing against poorer sides i think we need a lb more than a rb as we have right footed players that can cover rb but no left footed player for lb a powerfull cb thats good in the air and good at bringing the ball out a right winger that can cross a ball and score his fair share of goals we havent got a midfielder who will get 10 or more goals a season
chris(Quote)
Would someone be able to answer my villa question(@4)?
andymag(Quote)
ANDY havent got a clue if game is on sky or not,i can go and see it on my mates dreambox if i cannot get to game mesel 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
talk of inter milan bid for carroll 🙄
icedog(Quote)
Ice ,I don’t see him going to Milan at all.
kimtoon(Quote)
Seems like Douglas is a no-go.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
**** it..
Lets see what the next 72 hours will show.
I was dissapointed by the lack of form we showed against Chelski thats all.
Give me 2 good signings and a solid win on thursday.
Fat *******! Wake up
DanishToon(Quote)
FSOTC everyone is a no-go in this window imo mate 🙁
icedog(Quote)
Pardew said we didnt need to sell in order for us to buy right?
DanishToon(Quote)
Kim – I dont see him coming to the toon either!
If I was being totally honest, I really struggle to see anyone coming in now it’s SO quiet from our end. There MUST be money in the pot otherwise I would have thought they would have just came out after signing Anita and said ‘right that’s our lot!’
Sharpy17(Quote)
KIM l/pool would snatch their hands off if true get him out the EPL to save face 😉
icedog(Quote)
Yeah, maybe, Ice. They’re playing very carefully with the purse strings and sticking to the refusal to over pay for players.
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
DT aye thats right he said he wants 3/4 players in but if he lost one of his big players he would want him replaced
icedog(Quote)
Ice @38, I agree but what if AC don’t want to go there. 😕 He has all the power at the moment I would of thought.
kimtoon(Quote)
Peronally the damned transfer window and the eternal distraction of maybe losing a couple of our best players is causing me more grief than the results so far this season.
Although at the same time we haven’t pulled up any trees with our performances so far…but it’s still early doors… 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
MM you must be sober at the mo 😀 😀
icedog(Quote)
how many lives in newcastle in this forum?
Would like to know where to drink my pints if i should be so lucky to travel up there within this year
DanishToon(Quote)
Icedog…change the record big man… 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
DanishToon you might find the majority of bloggers on here don’t live in the toon. And some like Icedog aren’t allowed to drink anyway… 😉
Munich Mag(Quote)
DT that MM is 90% german now so tak nee notice of them square heeds 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
wtf..
I need to have someone to lead me to the pints..
Without alcohol i go blind.. Or is it the other way?
DanishToon(Quote)
Icedog the 10% Geordie left over is the important bit mukka … 😉 😆
Munich Mag(Quote)
Reality is an illusion caused by alcohol deficiency.
Premandup(Quote)
dont mention the war!
DanishToon(Quote)
Danish; I live in Wallsend, between Newcastle and the coast , but I can see SJP (S D Arena) from my house.
sidekick(Quote)
sidekick..
So you are the one to contact if i am a lucky lad and land in newcastle within this year?
DanishToon(Quote)
In fairness I don’t think it’s the performance against chelsea that’s got on peoples nerves. Like you said, toonsy, it wasn’t that bad a performance to be honest. It’s the squad that is worrying everyone i’m sure.
The number of defenders we have in the first team squad means that probably at least two will need to play every single game we play – especially the centre backs, or at least if we want to challenge on all fronts.
The reality is that we need a right back, centre back and a striker. Had we got them we would have probably the best squad we’d seen for many a year. But alas.
Only at NUFC I guess could we reduce the squad size in a season were we have more games to play. 🙄
Stuart79(Quote)
Danish; Troy knows all the best pubs in toon and he will take you on a pub crawl with his brother. However, if they start a football debate it might be more of a pub brawl.
sidekick(Quote)
Crown Posada.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Union Rooms is a wetherspoons but it’s class.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
If I were Ashley I would put 1 Mill on Lille to qualify for the CL group stages tomorrow. That way if they win he has the extra 2 mill to meet their asking price. If they lose they will be forced to sell him at a drop down price lower than our original offer.
Win-win 💡
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
I am pretty happy with the 3pts from 2 games, and to be honest I don’t really know anyone thats not, But what I will say is that the Chelski game showed that we are still pretty weak, Cisse was awol and the biggest crying shame was that there was no one to bring on in his place and that for me simply isn’t good enough for a team that is currently in Europe and has aspirations to stay in Europe,
Now for the ones that will say that we have a good 1st 11 I agree 100% but there is noway in this world all our 1st 11 will be fit the whole way through the season. we have got shot of a high earner in Smith and experienced players in Best, Lovens, Guthrie, and we have brought in Anita who must be to replace Guthrie and a few younguns with potential, but as of yet we haven’t replaced Best or Lovens even with 1 striker, add to that that even Jabba said before the last window that we need a CB and here we are with a couple of days to go and we still haven’t brought one in.
For the ones that think that thats ok and we haven’t sold any of our big players that fine and dandy because thats your right, but I am fuking fuming that up to now we haven’t grabbed the chance we have to push on with both hands, and although I don’t expect any players to come in I will still give them untill the window closes, But I think its a total disgrace that we have been weakened even more when you consider that we have a bigger work load on this season 👿
Big Dave(Quote)
Looks like Drogba and Anelka could be available! Ha!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/aug/28/didier-drogba-nicolas-anelka-shenhua
Fans Should Own The Club(Quote)
Anyone else watching Udinesi v Braga on itv4? Quite a good game, end to end stuff. By the way it turns out that our match v villa will be the one match on sunday that isn’t on tv 😡 .
Andymag(Quote)
Danish – sorry for the delay. Depends what your looking for mate, there are loads of ‘wine bar’ pubs in the Town now like if you’re a bit Geordie Shore. But if you’re wanting a decent pint and bit crack the Crown Pasarda is canny on the Quayside – which is my favourite part of Newcastle to drink in coz of the views of the bridges and river and that.
Sharpy17(Quote)
FSOTC
Would have suggested we put in a sneaky bid to play them as backup but not at the wages that that article says.
Andymag(Quote)
http://www.nufcfans.co.uk/real-madrid-enter-the-race-for-top-newcastle-target-mathieu-debuchy-lille/
icedog(Quote)
Ice
They can **** right off. They’ve got more full-backs than midfielders why would they need him?
Andymag(Quote)
Solano@58 😉 Not a bad idea that.
Andy@61, That don’t surprise me as they only show us against tough oposition so they can rip the p*** out of us when we get slaughtered ,or am I just a bit paronoid. 😕
kimtoon(Quote)
Ice ,just read that Debuchy link. If they get him then that’s Douglas and Debuchy written off in one day 😯
kimtoon(Quote)
@Sharpy they’re a bit more Sinners than wine bars!
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Thing is, if there is any truth to Cabaye going then that may put off Debuchy coming here anyway. Not only is his mate gone but it would show a lack of ambition by Toon letting a top player go.
kimtoon(Quote)
I agree with with Big Dave @ 59 🙄
)
It can only be a fugging total disgrace if we close the transfer window with an overall weaker squad than last season with more games to play.
More so considering the club have most probably sold even more season tkts than last season.
I really dont understand why we are pissing about right now. Its simple we need a good left footed fullback, who can tackle. A tall CB who can defend set pieces into our box and a goddam striker to replace our perma crock shola. ( If we can just roll him out twice a season against the mackem scum, that will do 😯
Its too much to expect young Cambell to stand in for the 2 Demba’s during ACoN, nor the gangsta nor matchstick legs.
If we dont sign players for these 3 positions, I will be seriously pee’d off.
But of course we will then get all the **** about keeping our powder dry for january etc blah blah bullcrap.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
KIM sorry to say i told you so 🙁 🙁
icedog(Quote)
Ice ,I’m more fed up with each passing hour of this wretched window. I’m kinda sure we are done for in’s now just worried about outs now. 👿
kimtoon(Quote)
I thought this carr chap was supposed to have scouted various players for all the positions we need covered. so wtf is going on.
Simples, we are hoping to sell someone for mega bucks before we buy.
Which explains Pardews constant moaning in the papers about losing players. He is basically keeping them in the shop window.
There has been no change in the boards utter contempt for the fans who spunk up there hard earned every month.
Well if we dont sell big and soon, then forget new players coming in.
imo anyway.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
We could have had players we wanted, much earlier in this window, if we had really wanted them, but Fat Bastad just has to play his little games of pretending to be interested in a player and under bidding.
It may be clever business acumen, but doesn’t impress me much.
IMO if you want a certain player, then just cough up the money. All this penny pinching is utter garbage.
👿
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
ST – not keen on the likes of Revolution and the bars around there like – bit too poser bar for me like … not that I haven’t got it you understand, just don’t like flaunting it 😎 😳 😆
Ice – I just wonder how true that is and who started this rumour – could it be Lille stirring up a bidding war?!. The fact is we really should have had Debuchy signed up and playing long before now.
My other concern is that by not getting the likes of Debuchy – if Arsenal come in for Cabaye he may look at it and think, yeah they have lost RVP and other big players, but at least they are showing some ambition with the likes of Podolski, Giroud and others they are signing up … what are we doing?!
Like Kim says – to potentially loose targets of Douglas and Debuchy in the same day, when really we should have had them signed up already is just massively bloody annoying man 👿
Sharpy17(Quote)