A piece of magic ensured that we mustered two wins within the space of the week to at least brighten the mood temporarily ahead of transfer deadline day tomorrow.
The most impressive thing for me though was the performance. Although the first half was tepid and devoid of any real attacking intent, our possession wasn’t bad and Fulham rarely got a sniff. However when our key players took to the field in the second period we looked more threatening, more urgent and in the end we could and perhaps should have won by more than one goal.
Our problems are in attack. Papiss Cisse and Shola Ameobi need things created for them and if they don’t get that their contribution is minimal. I actually sympathise with them, especially when you see what happened in the first half where they were left isolated for the most part and on the odd occasion that they weren’t the supply line got a bit greedy and tried something fancy instead of keeping things simple.
In truth the second period started off in much the same vein as the first ended, with Fulham rarely threatening and United lacking bite, but the introduction of Yohan Cabaye, Yoan Gouffran and Loic Remy seemed to tip the balance in our favour and gave Fulham more to worry about.
Hatem’s goal was fantastic and Robbie Stockdale in the Fulham goal couldn’t do a thing about it. It sums Ben Arfa up perfectly. An afternoon spent frustrating everyone by trying too much or by making poor decisions was topped off with that goal which gave us the three points. You can watch it again below.
Papiss Cisse hit the crossbar, Cabaye forced a save from Stockdale who then denied Cisse at the second attempt and Gouffran missed a couple of chances but in the end the one goal was enough for United.
We now have two weeks off as the international break kicks in and when we return we have games away at Aston Villa and at home to Hull to contend with. First off though we need to see what kind of squad we have left to utilise once the window closes. I suspect it won’t be too different to the one we have now and certainly won’t be added to but I may be wrong.
That’s for tomorrow though. For now, take a bow Hatem!
P.S; Just a couple of stats for you following on from the game yesterday.
– Hatem Ben Arfa has scored in all three of his appearance against Fulham.
– No team has played fewer long balls this season than……. Newcastle United!
@Stuart
Totally with you fella. Stardust is clueless and doesn’t go to the games and only watches the highlights on MOTD.
He hasn’t realised Barfa’s goal has papered over a crisis. If Remy gets injured we are certainly in a relegation battle.
Fulham were atrocious and that’s being kind. It’s no good saving money and gambling that we stay up.
46k on Saturday is a current reflection of how the fans feel. It’s ok though for stardust who is oblivious to what’s happening on the pitch.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
agree there Troy. An injury to Remy we’re back to a season of struggle..
Its all getting exciting. cant wait for the avalanche of signings near to 11 2nite 🙄
So much for Joe bragging about signing players..
mark(Quote)
I once took Stardust to the game with a spare ticket and he spent the entire time looking at the skyline staring at Sunderland 😆 and throwing paper planes from the back of the stand from his programme. He had to ask me the score at the end of the game.
I put h on the bus and I stayed in the toon on the drink. 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Newkie, generally the Courts will book 2 or 3 cases for the sme week. This is because sometimes key witnesses dont turn up or defendants often change to guilty pleas right at the last moment. There will be pecking order for the listings on any particular date – depending on how serious the case is, how long it has waited to go to trial and how ready it really is. New evidence can also be thrown into the works, meaning a further delay whilst prosecution and defense argue what is relevant, what is not and what they can agree upon…
More often than not, Court dates get adjourned.
Shamrock(Quote)
If we dont sign anyone 2day it shows mike wants out as fast as poss. Why wouldnt you try and secure a top 10 position with a signing or 2??
We have a decent team, even better with 1or2 additions.
I reckon he’s keeping his money + the tv money, wonga money and he’s ready to sell.. 😛
hope so..
mark(Quote)
There’s no crisis Troy. We played well and if not for some superb goalkeeping from Stockdale (for which he got into the team of the week) we could’ve be 3/4 goals up. The team is starting to click and once the window closes the speculation over outgoings will have ended.
Andymag(Quote)
…..the team can carry on without the issues surrounding them.
Andymag(Quote)
@Andymag
are u being sarcastic there mate
mark(Quote)
we have clicked in 1 game so far. i would not be so confident just yet. go into the season with only cisse and remy up front ( the latter is slightly injury prone) and we will struggle. fingers crossed.
Shamrock(Quote)
Mark. If you look back over the past few years all signs point towards him looking to sell the club
MDS(Quote)
No Mark I’m not, why do we always need to be doom and gloom? Are we worse than seventeen other clubs? No, then why are we saying we’ll be relegated? Imo we’re perfectly capable of a 8-10 finish.
Andymag(Quote)
Ice/Shamrock-cheers fellas!
Newkie(Quote)
Andy – maybe in the 2nd half, but a better team would have punished our first half display IMO.
If we are going to have a decent season we have to aim to play as we did in the second half for the rest of the season.
We absolutely need to in. If not buying then defo loan deals – but to me THAT is a short term fix.
If we get no one else in the JFK has to answer the question why not IMO – and Ashley should be accountable as well. It was his vision that Joe could do things DL couldn’t.
JFK has reportedly been over to France and Belgium during this window – for what purpose?!
I don’t believe that either in this Country or across the continent there is no CF that fits the bill.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Stardust @206
Stardust
September 2, 2013 at 12:26
I think if everyone took a step back and thought about where we are in every way – players – financials etc since Ashley’s arrival – I think his achievements are incredible. Imagine if this improvement continues and fans eventually learn to support what he is doing. At the moment they think far too much about small things rather than the bigger picture
Wow ,that’s some statement that . Well here’s some small things bothering me .Benny’s new contract is still not sorted and failing to learn from last seasons epic **** up in summer recruitments is plain dumb NOT smart or astute business sense. If the jan signings thing is the way to go then why have they come out and admitted that they made a big mistake in not strengthening in the summer 😕 kinda contradicts your statement that buying in jan at reduced rates is the way to go .
So here we are again summer window and just a loanee in who could yet soon disappear rape charge pending. When the inevitable injuries kick in and our squad can’t cope and we are staring relegation down the throat how smart does Ash look then ❓ And when he ends up panic buying in jan again how smart does he look. Yes he’s a great business man but a poor football club owner as he just doesn’t get it imo. Ambition is not the sum total of winning the league or qualifying for CL ,it’s being in with a chance of a cup or in our case strengthening enough to stay a PL team.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Careful Andy, neggars like Newkie, will go after you for positive comments like that 😉 😆
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Andymag..
ok mate, i like your positive thinking but given we’ve lost players this season, were nearly relegated last yr and have only secured a loanee…it doesnt look promising if we dont sign anyone else.
IF remy stays fit we might do ok, if not we’ll have Cisse as our only striker. If he gets injured who have we got?
mark(Quote)
Sharpy
Aye its largely depending on whether we can continue that second half performance throughout matches, but I think what we saw was promising.
Aussie
I’ll watch out then 😉 .
Andymag(Quote)
Kim very intresting comments about Ashley. I have actually given up on the club signing anyone today. Arfa contract being renewed would be good imo. If Kinnear signs anyone today you can shoot me as I don’t see it.
stem(Quote)
Well said KIMTOON 😉
mark(Quote)
Mark
Very true if BOTH of our main strikers gets injured then we might have an issue but that is unlikely and how many other teams would have a good enough third choice to get them through the season? Barring the top3/4 I’d say only a couple. We do need reinforcements if we want to progress and achieve stability in the top 8 but with the team we currently have we are by no means in a relegation battle.
Andymag(Quote)
Andy would love Defoe today but i’m being to optimistic ? Kinnear could get him for 5 million and Cisse could get dropped as his off form.
stem(Quote)
Andy – I read a similar level of optimisim on this site approx 2 weeks ago when people were say ‘stop worrying, there’s still plenty of time in the transfer window. People slating Joe but I hope they credit him when he makes these signings’
It’s funny but not one of those folk have been on here yet today – but there’s still 8 and a bit hours to go so plenty of time for him to prove us all wrong.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Stem
Agreed Defoe would be a good signing. Would that mean that Shola goes or will he be back up to the backups?
Andymag(Quote)
I think at SJP they just sometimes ‘hold the fort’ and protect the gallowgate goal in the first half before going for it down the hill in the second half, been that way for years. Maybe not such a bad idea as teams don’t play flat out for 90 minutes, so you either start all guns blazing and tire in the last 20 minutes (when the other team can pick you off) or you preserve some energy.
DJG(Quote)
Sharpy
I was one of those people and there is still a good chance that someone may come in. Just because SKY don’t have a whiff of it doesn’t mean that we aren’t sorting our deals out under the radar. Could be that we are bidding for Defoe and Ince but that’s pure speculation, the likelihood is that we don’t bring someone in but there is always a chance that we will.
Andymag(Quote)
@Andy. the problem is we only have 3 recognised strikers. & 1 is Shola. Most teams have at least 4 and a few reserves. We definitely need another scorer.. Pardew has stated this a hundred times, if we dont, we’re one injury away from a poor season. Thats not being doom and gloom m8, its stating the obvious.
mark(Quote)
Mark I wasn’t going to come on here today ,I switched off SSN and the PC and went over to my parents a totally footie free zone . Came back to print off some stuff only to find the pc not working 👿 called out the engineer to take a look and it was a broken monitor 😳 doh,. All sorted now and couldn’t help myself and had to pop on 🙄 I refuse to hang on every news break on SSN or twist myself in knots over the fact no one is arriving as I said no one would weeks ago .Plenty of us saw it coming but got shouted down for being doom mongers ,I could yet be wrong but I’m 99.9% sure I ain’t.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Joe’s message to fan’s, ” Dont expect anything and you won’t be disappointed.”
stem(Quote)
We’ll only buy if we sell, no Cabaye sale… no buys.. i reckon its obvious what Mikes upto.
mark(Quote)
Cabaye leaving now, there’s no time to replace him
stem(Quote)
@KIMTOON
I’m with you there, its all paper/sky hype. We might see some activity if we sell imo. I reckon our window is over and Kinnear can put his feet up 😆
I reckon Jim White wont even bother visiting St James this year, the lights are off already. 🙁
mark(Quote)
Mark
I’d say it was more that clubs have two main strikers and a backup that the fans all slate and think should be replaced (sound familiar) and then whatever other attackers they have are untested youngsters (suspiciously familiar). We can complain about a lack of attackers and whilst a Defoe or a Gomis would definitely improve our squad they aren’t necessarily needed.
Andymag(Quote)
Defoe get him in ? Ashley has a helicopter ? One last twist ? 🙁
stem(Quote)
Look,. Quite simply we NEED a striker in and another wide attacker we saw how poor we were before Remy and Goofy and Cabs came on ,If we lose Remy whether it be injury (likely as he missed 19 games last season ) or court case ,we are well and truly up **** creek so far as getting goals goes and without goals you struggle as you can’t bank on 0.0 draws to keep you up. 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
well if we can improve our attack line then we should. Remy might not be here long and Cisse is having a mare on his tod. Shola cant even train hes that f**ked..
mark(Quote)
Stem
What?… Is that just about the speculation on Man U contemplating a bid?
Andymag(Quote)
@KIMTOON
cheer up lass, u negative s**t. we’ll be just dandy 😆 😉
mark(Quote)
Mark@256 ,The tumbleweed is bouncing around outside SJP 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIMTOON
😆 it’ll not be there long. Ashley will be collecting them to sell as Collo wigs 😛
mark(Quote)
Andy I just hope that happens mate. Defoe getting in helicopter then has medical and signs the dotted line, just before 11pm ?
stem(Quote)
The biggest problem at the club is Pardew. He’s also the easiest one to fix (replace him).
Otherwise we could buy the club from Mike Ashley. He’d sell for £300m and that’s something i reckon we could afford. The same way the Glazers bought Man Utd, the fans could buy NUFC.
Why won’t it work?
KK(Quote)
Mark 😆
KIMTOON(Quote)
Something about Kinnear bringing in a no.3 goal keeper Boyd. I won’t get to excited
stem(Quote)
I can’t possibly see who we would get in as a last minute transfer. It’s not like we’ve been waiting for Bale to go to Madrid!
KK(Quote)
We didn’t play badly in the first half, we just didn’t create much. We lacked intent but Fulham didn’t make it easy with their defensive set up (defensive set up with attacking players Jol!?). The little they did try was absolutely bossed by Colo and Mbiwa who looked very nice, we had one real scare with the Colo block and that was it. Two PL clean sheets aint bad and considering the mess we had vs City when only two defenders had their heads on, one of whom was making his debut. Teams will have to push more men up to get past this (hopefully) solid set up and that’ll suit us as it means we can get Benny, Remy and Sissoko on them at the break.
Newkie(Quote)
What does Joe Kinnear know about the financials involved in player purchases??
KK(Quote)
@NEWKIE
I don’t think we move up the pitch quick enough for counter attacking football but it would be nice to see.
KK(Quote)
well i’m going to retire, get a couple of tinnies and settle down to watch Sky sports news.. 😛
mark(Quote)
Newkie ,On another day before we even scored Fulham could of had a pen ,when Debs caught Parkers shin in the box when he went down ,we got lucky as other refs would of given that. Fulham posed no threat at all imo so a relative easy day for us tbh and our subs helped us dominate for 20 mins. I’m reserving judgement until after Villa as to whether we have really sorted our s*** out.
KIMTOON(Quote)
I’m away to garden weeding ,every one I rip out represents Jabbas head 😈
KIMTOON(Quote)
@KIMTOON
We have not sorted ourselves out. Why would anyone think that after a couple of games?
Same manager with the same approach will get you the same results.
KK(Quote)
Going to bed now…no doubt there will be **** all good news in the morning, my time… so, i shall save my anger until then….. 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Night Aussie, dream of a striker joining
stem(Quote)
KK-In 2011/12 we scored more counter attack goals than any other side. We’re perfectly capable of it, we just need need fit and healthy, confident players. And for Obertan to have a brain transplant and Jonas to be put down. The problem is we don’t have the bodies to have a consistent game plan-we have to chop and change depending on what is available to the first 11. That’s why last year was a disaster.
Kim-would have been very soft, Owen said so himself and he hates us! By debuchy standards that was a pat on the back 😆 For them to pose no threat our players still had to play well-and Colo and Mbiwa did, imo. Particularly impressive was their ground passing from the back. If we had Anita sitting deep and Debbie/Santon pushed up we would have an immensely technical/gifted passing back line from which to stretch the play and find options with Colo/Anita/Mbiwa. The key as always, no englishmen 😀
Newkie(Quote)
Talking about running a tight ship, why has Ashley employed JFK? No doubt he is earning a pretty penny and from what I am seeing he is not exactly doing anything worthwhile.
Stuart79(Quote)
@277-The cheeky **** calls me a negger. Night Aussie, surprised you can tell the time of day with that bleak attitude ❗
Newkie(Quote)
So . . . 3 transfer windows and about £20m spent. Mr Financials will be rubbing his hands with glee. No doubt Mr Balance Sheet will be applauding too.
Are we the only club interested in FFP? Does it even exist?
Zero ambition as the gates steadily fall . . .
georgio(Quote)
Kim @274
Don’t tell me you bought into Savage’s rambling? Debuchy knocked the ball away before he made contact with Parker, Savage paused it seconds afterwards when the ball was rolling away and Debuchys foot collided with Scott’s, showing only the collision and not the actual tackle. Even Owen said that that would be ridiculous to give a penalty for.
Andymag(Quote)
James Pearce @Pearcesport 3h
I’m told Mike Ashley let Cabaye listen to phone negotiations last week + he heard Arsenal say: “25 million a lot for a reserve” #moodchanger
M(Quote)
Newkie @279
It’s sad but its the Englishmen that are currently holding us back. We keep pitching names to sign whether it be a striker, midfielder or defender but so far Defoe and Ince have been the only English names mentioned. It’s usually Fingbossen, Alderweild and even McCarthy is strictly British.
Andymag(Quote)
Old news M 😉 😆
Andymag(Quote)
Mind that kind of puts Man U in the prime position to sign him, though it seems they are more focussed on that Bilbao midfielder and Fellaini.
Andymag(Quote)
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/Premier+League/Newcastle+United
Sign the young lad up. If he’s anything like his dad was, then get him in!
Shamrock(Quote)
Fantastic overview of Ashley’s NUFC by Luke Edwards
According to one former Newcastle United manager, Mike Ashley casually admitted during one of their first meetings, that he had no idea why he had bought a football club. After six years, neither does anybody else.
Ashley doesn’t speak publicly unless he absolutely has to, and despite everything that has happened since 2007 – the brash trampling over tradition, the insults and the procession of public relations faux pas – he has never felt compelled to explain anything or apologise.
He is a curious man, shy of publicity, yet supremely confident, a self-made billionaire thanks to his phenomenally successful Sports Direct chain and one of the country’s richest people.
He is bold in business, aggressive in his desire to dominate rivals, and innovative in his methods. But as a football club owner he appears clumsy, confused and prone to damaging misjudgement.
Those close to him have intimated he bought Newcastle to have some fun, although the more persuasive argument is he spent roughly £140 million because he thought he would be able to sell it again for a profit.
Either way, he has failed. Whatever enjoyment he took disappeared the moment he fell out with the first manager he appointed, Kevin Keegan – the idolised former Newcastle player and manager who not only resigned back in September 2008 in protest at boardroom control of transfers, but added he had been insulted and belittled by Ashley and his cronies.
Ashley responded to the outbreak of supporter rebellion by putting the club up for sale, while also bringing in Joe Kinnear, a drinking buddy who had last been taken seriously as a manager at Wimbledon in the late 90s.
Kinnear won four games in difficult circumstances before a heart attack, five months after he had, to widespread dismay, replaced Keegan, forced him to step down. Newcastle have effectively been up for sale ever since.
It has largely been a chore. Kinnear was replaced by another Newcastle hero, Alan Shearer, but he could not save them from relegation. Ashley slashed the asking price, but even at £100 million, the global recession and the loss of interest in buying English clubs from abroad, mean he has been lumbered with it ever since.
Understandably, having had it made clear he was no longer welcome on Tyneside by the fans he had once drank with in the city and sat among at away games, Ashley no longer wanted to put his own money in, but in doing so he has done much that can be admired.
As well as sheltering from intermittent storms, none more so than the one whipped up by the announcement he had changed St James’ Park to the Sports Direct Arena, the 49-year-old has done more than he is credited for.
As well as bankrolling the club’s promotion from the Championship with more than £100-million worth of interest free loans, he has introduced the largest family enclosure in the country, frozen season tickets for ten years and, with the help of former managing director Derek Llambias, turned an ailing business in to the sort financial success story rarely seen in European football without huge foreign investment.
The drive to become self-sufficient may have owed less to Financial Fairplay than Ashley’s determination not to spend a penny more on a project gone sour, but it has been achieved all the same.
In 2012, Newcastle finished fifth, two years after returning to the top flight and even during their decline last season, they received plenty of praise for their transfer policy until their fascination with French imports appeared to backfire in a relegation battle.
And for all of the hostility directed at him, Ashley has done rather well out of it too, not least in terms of promoting Sports Direct, the negative publicity generated by the renaming of the ground helping his company’s profits to sour.
Nothing has changed though. Ashley has been waiting for an elusive billionaire buyer for five years. Not actively looking to sell, perhaps, but no longer able to preside with any real enthusiasm.
It means his decision making is shaped by negativity. He does not care what happens to the team as long as it is not a drain on him, which means treading water in the Premier League.
There is no ambition, just a desire to keep the business ticking over until someone decides Newcastle are, as many believe, the last club in English football worth spending a fortune on.
With its huge fan base, iconic location overlooking a football-obsessed city and scope to increase the capacity of St James’ Park, Newcastle have the potential to challenge for both domestic and European silverware, but where are the buyers?
Europe is crowded with wealthy, ambitious owners and billions no longer guarantee success, they don’t even make certain of playing in the Champions League.
There has been no serious interest, let alone an actual bid. The asking price is £267 million – which includes the interest-free loans provided – but there are no sign of any takers.
Newcastle and Ashley are stuck with each other and all supporters can do is endure the presence of an owner who has tested their loyalty like no other.
It is not easy when he gave up on being popular years ago and does not seem to care if he upsets anyone on Tyneside.
Ashley’s answer to last season’s trauma was to bring in Kinnear again, this time as a Director of Football with complete control of the football side of the operation.
Regardless of the fact Kinnear had been the longest serving of the four managers who presided over relegation in 2008/9, has no obvious credentials to carry out his new role given he has been out of football for the best part of nine years, Newcastle’s followers mainly objected to his return because they were embarrassed by the way he conducted himself during his previous stint in the North East.
Their fears have only been re-enforced by the confused and cringe-worthy interviews that have accompanied Kinnear’s return to prominence.
It has upset everyone, manager Alan Pardew and chief scout Graham Carr, who will call Kinnear ‘boss’, as well as managing director Llambias, who resigned, unable to reconcile himself with the arrival of such a divisive figure.
As for the fans, those bewitched souls who are cursed to support English football’s most enduring underachievers, there is anger, but also fear even worse may follow.
They have never liked Ashley, but had come to accept him as necessary. Some even begrudgingly praised his business acumen, but football clubs will always be about far more than balance sheets and turnovers. That is something their current owner seems unable or unwilling to grasp.
Stuart79(Quote)
Well have I missed out on any new signings 😀
I cant believe Stardy is on trying to defend Jabba
Big Dave(Quote)
maybe, just link to it next time 🙄
M(Quote)
Stuart@289 ,Yep that’s about right.
Andy@283 ,Soft it may of been but don’t tell me you ain’t seen em given and often against us.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Dave@290 ,Don’t be daft ,move along now ,nothing to see here 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
Boro going for vossen then, 4 mil apparently. Be interesting to see how he does.
Newkie(Quote)
jlsummerfield1 48m
@lee_ryder @MsiDouglas @CaulkinTheTimes is that it lads? #nufc
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George Caulkin @CaulkinTheTimes 41m
@jlsummerfield1 put it this way: feel free to enjoy the rest of your day.
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8:19 AM – 2 Sep 13 · Details
KIMTOON(Quote)
Can believe it, I’ve had the dog out and come back to catch up with what’s going on and can’t get into this blinkin article!!.
Apologies if you’ve posted and I haven’t replied.
Gutted, want to see what peoples thoughts were as this with closes.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I really think the club should announce at the start of the window that they don’t intend to make any purchases this window. Instead they dilly dally on unobtainable targets almost as if to try and make it look like they are trying.We’ve had this little charade every summer now and still people fall for it. He has lost all interest in the Toon that’s obvious now ,the signings in jan were purely to protect his investment and keep the club saleable not to please the fans that’s for sure.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Well after an unsuccessful trip to the driving range I see we still haven’t signed anyone and the only player we’ve been linked with is a GK.
Kim
True but would’ve been harsh.
Andymag(Quote)
I’m getting alittle pissed off now like – and I know I shouldn’t because I didn’t really think we’d sign anyone today. But I think I’ve heard every other club mention with a move for at least one player today and its like we don’t even exsist!.
I think maybe Villa is the only other club not mentioned yet today but they have done their business.
Whilst I’m not surprised, I and bitterly disappointed!!
I’d much sooner be eating humble pie coz JFK had done it than sat here saying ‘told you so!’
Sharpy17(Quote)
First toonsy if hba play on his real and best postion like formation in clairefontaine and lyon..u can crying since today for a big bid comes from 5 of biggest club on europe ( he can skills like devils ok he can score like big bull yes..and he can make some pass u never think in ur mind and no body think in the stadium just himself ❗ ❗ ❗
Two ❗ if better player around him playing well ..u never see hatem waiting so much or lost ball (he fight always for the balls after) …
Three ❗ if there is a decent boss on bord ..a decent f7cking manager hwo see the big probleme with this team like a fucking virus on middle of his face ❗
4 4 2 with two clown on front cant control a smple pass…an anita afraid of a player on 5 yards behind him can t touch a decent ball ❗
Mr krull (good goalkeeper) take his time to shoot over the moon when he see the ball comes him ( perhaps it s a bet with frends..?):!:
Sorry but hatem is top top class and can do big noise in newcastle ❗
Just playing in his psition best and give him better team -tactics- and a valuable boss coacher ❗
U could pray and ask god hwo is this cuy with a leg broken and shine in st jams park . ❗
djebs9(Quote)