Game On! Newcastle v Hull City

Game On at SJP
Game On at SJP
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our match article which will cover the visit of Hull City this afternoon.

It’s early days in terms of the Premier League season yet United have managed to tick along quite nicely in terms of results.

A 4-0 humping in our first game of the season wasn’t the best start, and our goal difference is still smarting from that, but four games unbeaten since the opening day has given supporters a cautious optimism. However it’s not just results that have mattered though as performances have also been better. Simply put we’re playing better football these days and there is a sense that if we can keep these players fit and performing we might actually be able to muster a decent season.

Standing in the way of us continuing our run today are Hull City managed by former Mackem manager Steve Bruce. He will no doubt want to prove a point as the last time he was seen at St James’ Park he presided over our fiercest rivals heaviest defeat on Tyneside in living memory.

It’s an interesting game on paper as United should have enough in the tank to despatch the newly promoted Tigers, but United always seem to struggle when they are favourites and that is something I’m very mindful of.

Team news will be added in below, in full, as and when it becomes available but it’s always worth checking the comments at roughly 2pm as team news is often posted there first.

Being a 3pm kick-off means that the game is not being shown live here in the UK but it is being broadcast overseas so finding a stream shouldn’t be too much of a hardship. If you do happen to stumble across a reliable stream then by all means share it by leaving a link in the ‘comments’ section below.

That’s just about it. Will we fall the right side of expectation today? Or will Hull City be celebrating a third win at St James’ Park in four seasons?

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, Yanga-Mbiwa, Coloccini (c), Santon; Anita, Sissoko, Cabaye; Ben Arfa, Cissé, Remy.

Subs: Elliot, Dummett, Williamson, Tiote, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Gouffran.

Hull City: McGregor, Rosenior, Davies (c), Chester, Elmohamady, Brady, Huddlestone, Livermore, Quinn, Aluko, Graham.

Subs: Harper, Bruce, Faye, Boyd, Meyler, Proschwitz, Sagbo.

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.

665 thoughts on “Game On! Newcastle v Hull City

  1. The damage paolo has done will be hard to clear imho, They had four players of quality last season: Rose who is back at spurs, Sessegnon and Mignolet who have both left and Fletcher who has knacked his shoulder.

    Their squad looks as weak as any bar Crystal palace, Their run in particularly at home where they get virtually all of their points is horrible and i cant see a honey moon period that O’Neil and Di Canio enjoyed which ultimately saved them at the end of the season happening…

      (Quote)

  2. Aussie – You could write an article on the defensive qualities of Debuchy.
    Shouldn’t take long to type up.

      (Quote)

  3. Sidekick, good idea but I was going to write one up called “Have some fans still failed to move on from our loss to Hull in the 2008/09 season” 😛 😆 😆

      (Quote)

  4. Pards can work hard now for keep his chair..
    I think he s beghin better than last season..
    I hope he continue with 433 and i dream for a 4312 tcatic more equilibrate with hba free …
    I keep faith on pardew and i stand too see singing in christmas ..
    Come on ❗

      (Quote)

  5. I thought it was a good game on Saturday and Hull were much better than I imagined. Totally blocked hatem out of the game – hope no one else watched. He, Cabaye and Cisse looked woeful. Cisse should just be dropped at last and Pards should sit Cabaye down and show him the vid of Huddlestone totally dominating the midfield with simple well weighted passes. That’s what he should be doing because he’s totally lost in the role he currently has.
    Our defending is abysmal. Neither MYM or Colo can actually jump and the attempts at getting all the other big guys in the middle is leaving huge gaps in the pen area. For all 3 of their goals the guys had acres of space in our area. Twas exactly the same against City. Mark the runners not ball watch!

      (Quote)

  6. Djebs9
    If we don’t get Ben Arfa to sign a new contract by Christmas we could well see Ashley cashing in on him in the January transfer window.
    If the worst did happen would you still be a Toon fan or would you change your allegiance to Ben Arfas’ new club?

      (Quote)

  7. @Ice

    Hahaha. 😉

    You know what my real thoughts are regarding Pardew. 😉

    I’ve enjoyed fishing lately, but no matter if we go on a winning streak, I still don’t rate him as a top manager. He’s as good as we will get with Ashley though and I do see us surviving this season, which is all Ashley wants. 😉

    Some people are happy with that. I don’t blame Pards. He’s doing his best with a poor squad and over rated players.

    You get what you pay for which is what I’ve maintained throughout. 😉

      (Quote)

  8. TROY agree 100%,in regards to the players we have some very good players thing is pardew makes them look very ave imo

      (Quote)

  9. Pardew could have said in the summer we did our transfers in january but he didn’t say that did he! It’s thing’s like this which really annoy the hell out of me when it comes to him. Yes we loaned Remy on a season long loan and he could be considered a short term solution to Ba but the truth is Cisse has been awful ( Very awful). He needs competition in that area and Gomis, Ba, Bent were all linked and couldn’t do any worse than Cisse! I’m getting really annoyed with him to be honest and it’s player’s like him that makes Ashley not want to spend. I just hope something done about this in january.

      (Quote)

  10. Important to get the Hull game out of our systems, credit to Colo who has come out and said that they were hurting after the unexpected defeat.

    Just wondering who would people pick for the cup game? I’d be tempted to go for a semi strength team that should have enough in the locker to beat Leeds.

    I’d pick:
    Elliot
    Debuchy, Mapou, Willo, Dummett
    Tiote
    Marveux, Gosling, Sammy
    Gouffran Remy

      (Quote)

  11. We’ve been playing with 10 men for too long now. Drop Cisse, for who it doesn’t matter. There’s acres of space ahead of the back 4 without Tiote as well, Sissoko just doesn’t hassle or pay enough attention. Drop Cabs because he creates little and is greedy with his shots, or at least drop him back to DM with Sissoko pushed further up…

    We shouldn’t overreact but if Cisse doesn’t score in a full match vs leeds I would drop him for Everton, he contributes nothing going forward.

      (Quote)

  12. Isn’t Shola injured? Be great if we could go on a cup run, Pardew as got a dismal record with us domestic cups. Lets hope that changes this season, if Swansea and Wigan can win a trophy then we should be able to. Lets face it, we’re not going to achieve Europe by our league position so this is our best hope.

      (Quote)

  13. GEORGIO
    The surprising thing for me with the defence was not that we were beaten by physicality but that the defence just seemed to switch off and get beaten by simple goals. It didn’t help that most of the team were poor though. Collo needs to lead the defence and he didn’t and Mbiwa can look class in one game and then dodgy in another, not the finished article in this league but worth sticking with over Taylor. Sissoko needs to help more defending set pieces as one of the biggest players in the team, he can’t just stand there and ball watch.

      (Quote)

  14. MIHESH
    I agree, Pardew needs to beat Leeds, his cup record with us is awful, but he tells us that he loves cup competitions!

      (Quote)

  15. DJG I don’t consider Leeds to be much of a threat to us at home but I thought that against Hull.

    Newkie I’m happy you agree with me about Cisse. He has been very woeful of late

      (Quote)

  16. DJG – We’re constantly at risk because of a lack of heading power at the back. Pardews tactics seem to be bring all the big guys back to cover that weakness but they’re not defenders and just crowd the box. Krul then has no chance getting to the ball (Villa last week). And what happened to two guys on the goalposts at set plays? They would have stopped the second.

    But what really kills us is poor positional play. Way too much space for attackers in our box. The defenders seem to think it’s all about getting between the ball and the goal and totally ignore the free runners in our box.
    Pardews still rubbish!!!

      (Quote)

  17. Stem-he’s been woeful for over a year to tell the truth. In reality he is the same player-his touch and dribbling ability were always suspect even after we bought him-but fortunately he kept scoring unreal goals. Even then he would miss the easy chances. Now for whatever reason he’s barely scoring wonder goals. He has been excused and pandered to for all of last year, time to drop him properly IMO.

      (Quote)

  18. The problems with the spaces in our defensive third come from the lack of pressure put on the opposition ball carrier by our mids.. it allows the ball carrier to pick passes under very little duress. When you allow players that much time to pick a pass, you will get scored against..

      (Quote)

  19. Georgio-it’***** and miss with the men on the line though. Krul flapped at Villa-he was wrong to come for it. If we had men on the line then Hull can just sit all their players in the box right up next to Krul and watch him flounder again if they want.

    Not saying which way is right or wrong, personally I only thought Simmo was any good on the line, Perch was ok, Santon got away with a handball last year, Debuchy doesn’t give me confidence in anything he does.

      (Quote)

  20. Off topic, anyone see the Jones vs Gustafsson ufc fight? Fecking cracker! Check it out if you get a chance..

      (Quote)

  21. Newkie – most other teams seem to do it. Really masking the lack of heading ability in our defence though. It will be a problem all season.

      (Quote)

  22. Anyone see Les Kellet v Bobby Barnes. ?

    Real fighters! Kellet could take on all the UFC fighters with his hands tied behind his back.

      (Quote)

  23. the only way a Kellet would win is to send the ufc fighter a 25 page dossier on blog matters and bore them to death 😆

      (Quote)

  24. Aussie-the lack of pressure on Hull was disgusting, Sissoko’s gurning face as he watched people dance past him was shocking. Our players were as confident as our fans and unfortunately it told. Pardew probably should have had them more fired up but come on its the PL, 100% effort every game please.

      (Quote)

  25. Yep, they should know what is needed to perform in the pl. They should be fired up ready to go and Pardew should be channeling it..

      (Quote)

  26. Georgio-Aye, it really depends on where the free kick is. It’s the *shootable* ones that are difficult-keepers need room to see the ball but also may not reach it if it goes in one of the corners. If you stick a man there then the opposition can just throw everyone in there. Or they can feint a shot and drift it to someone else.

    It wasn’t so much the man on the line on that goal-it was the completely unmarked man Hull had leaping like a Salmon above our defenders.

      (Quote)

  27. Hull won’t play better than that all season. Truly bad day at the office for us. Let’s hope lessons are learned and that Cisse is finally dropped. Remy up top for me.

      (Quote)

  28. Georgio-I know 😥 But anyone in the box looks like a Salmon when all our flat footed defenders are gawping at the air. That might just be the one thing Taylor is any good at, unfortunately he’s just as likely to break someone’s jaw with his elbow as he is to head ball.

    Maybe we’re missing Williamson?

    😆 😆

      (Quote)

  29. @Newkie
    That’s exactly the issue – players like Rooney, Jelavic, (Carroll…), can be forgiven for scoring droughts as they contribute to all around play.
    The likes of Bent and Cisse are worth absolutely nothing if they aren’t scoring.
    We aren’t Chelsea, and we aren’t good enough throughout the team to pander to one off form player in the hope we see his old self.
    Start him against Leeds, if he doesn’t score then for me he has to win his place back from sub appearances.
    Dare I say, Shola would have contributed more in 2013 if he’d have been as pandered to as Cisse has been.

      (Quote)

  30. Shola is a much better line leader than Cisse. Much much better. Young Campbell may be too. Cisse has been dreadful for over a year and doesn’t even look like a pro player. He’s a nice guy and all that but . . .

      (Quote)

  31. Jeezus..Aussie you had him sussed a while ago

    Troy was hopping around like a kanga last week after 1 win, bragging that people should of listened to him and BDave regarding Pardew being offered another chance, now he’s claiming he’s never liked him… 😯 🙄

    For the sake of the blog man… 😛

      (Quote)

  32. sidkik .. I must say that I was not born in worshiping newcastle united but I have known this magnifik jersey seeing mr david Ginola signs down …
    since I adore this jersey this club legends such as mr alan shearer or Asprilla olivier bernard! 😎 😎
    if there is a club that fucking dream to see on top of the premier league and europe … 😈
    ben arfa should stay here .. I admire the him is true .. he being so young on her shoulders .. . enormously I have compassion for him! today it must be the history of magpies! at least one trophy … 😉
    I support him pafticulary like i support any special footballer geniusin his feet mate 😉
    I m a great historik supporter of newcastle and i still be there and **** the septik 😆 ❗

      (Quote)

  33. @Mark
    I think any manager that finishes 5th with Newcastle deserves a second chance, regardless of whether he is average.
    That’s point one, for Pardew staying, for me.
    If he flounders around lower mid-table I’d still stick with him though, – point two, the age old replacement debate

      (Quote)

  34. Solano-exactly. Even those teams will struggle with players like Cisse-look at Berbatov at United, he had one good season and the fans were pretty happy with that one season, but even Owen was picked ahead of him for a CL final, what a joke that was! But it shows how managers view them.

    Let’s face it if he was any good as an all round player he wouldn’t have been at Freiburg.

    Shola’s touch can be erratic but he can still bring players into play better than Cisse. When they’re not scoring he is the better option. Except he actually has shown some form this summer/season… Some fans would (JJ?) would start comitting suicide if he started every week though so maybe it’s just as well we don’t play him 😆

      (Quote)

  35. Cisse is the big problem …he can t keep the ball ..it s very dificult to find him …he have a big bid of condident..it s hard to say that but shola is a better option …i prefere sammy by far ❗ but pards never give im on **** game… 😉 😉
    If pards give credit to sammy with remy in front he could great class player i think… 😉
    But stop cisse damages….:oops: 😳

      (Quote)

  36. @Newkie
    Last year Shola got 1 goal (a great goal as well) in 4 starts, Papiss got 8 in 35 !!!
    I’m 99% sure Shola’s goal ratio is less than 1 goal every 3 starts in the league as well. It won’t be long before Cisse overtakes that…

      (Quote)

  37. If the loss to Hull sets us off on a slump then Pardew may join Di Canio in the dole line. It would have to be Joe for a while and then who knows? A terrible loss to Everton, say 3-0, followed by a loss to Cardiff 1-0 might do the trick. Joe would be chomping at the bit by then. He doesn’t have a clue as DoF so why not manager again? Mike would be happy (another layoff is another wage saved). In fact perhaps Joe can do several jobs. He could be DoF, manager, head of HR, and do some ticket sales as well. More wage savings on the way Mike! Efficiency is a beautiful thing.

      (Quote)

  38. Was that Di Canio giving the fascist salute on his way out of Sunderland? There was definitely some kind of gesture involved. 😆

      (Quote)

  39. Just out of interest what is our home record in the last 10 league games played at St James Park? Hmmmm 5 wins, 4 losses, and a draw. Fortress St James? It wouldn’t appear so. Number of points from last 6 league home games? Hmmm 4 from a possible 18. Number of points from last 6 away league games? Hmmm 2 wins 3 draws, 1 loss means 9 from a possible 18. We’re away game specialists now. That adds up to 13 points from a possible 36 or 41 points in a season. That sounds about right for Pardew. It would probably get us 16th or 17th place.

      (Quote)

  40. From what I hear Mike is so hard up now he’s selling his former wife’s clothes from a booth in front of the mansion. It’s very sad. And to think we would have had to go into the red to buy a player in the summer as well. Shocking really. Where does the money go? One minute your worth 2.3 billion pounds or so Mike and the next you’re flogging second hand clothes and having your manager tell us all the shocking truth about the club. So rich yet so poor. Life is full of conundrums.

      (Quote)

  41. “You know, I’m standing on the sidelines and I am a little bit disappointed with a lot of factors about today’s game.” “But the thing that we must improve on is our consistency of performance, as individuals and as a team.” “That is what got us to finish in fifth place two years ago.”
    Another brilliant quote from Pardew. How does one man come up with so many gems? So Alan I guess that means your team performed poorly at home yet again? I would never have noticed. Neither would the 51,000 plus at the match. We all thought we performed brilliantly until you pointed out the reality.

      (Quote)

  42. Mike has had another inspired thought. He is going to have some of the Sports Direct staff come in and run the club in their spare time. They all know a great deal about football (just like Mike) so we should see some immediate improvement. And think of the wages it will save. Mike you’re amazing lad.

      (Quote)

  43. No problem sidekick @650. By that time the Sports Direct staff will be running things. Liverpool and Chelsea should be quaking in their boots mate. Think how our home record is going to look after that. Alan must be so excited looking forward to those games.

      (Quote)

  44. I see 8 points from our next 10 league games. That would give us 15 from 15 games. Hmmm top 8 looking likely with a point a game from the first 15? Not so sure about that. How does 15th place sound? It goes nicely with the 15 points from 15 games.

      (Quote)

  45. Kim I have faith that if we show more ambition Benny would stay but I just cant see the ambition being shown.
    I was also reading another story that seems to suggest that we have no option to buy Remy 😯

      (Quote)

  46. Let’s see what the results are like after another 10 games. I’m predicting 8 points from those games to give us 15 points in 15 games. If we’re at 20 points I will be shocked but happy. Any less than 15 and Pardew should be gone. In fact 15 in 15 and Pards should be gone.

      (Quote)

  47. Aye Big Dave @655 I can hardly wait for the next one mate. 😆 Maybe he’ll come out with an observation about how much spending other clubs did. It’s almost as if a big new TV contract was signed or something.

      (Quote)

  48. Pardew knows he badly needed those 3 points against Hull with smilin’ Mike and Joltin’ Joe in attendance and with our schedule coming up. Now he’ll have a big sweat on again unless we beat Cardiff.

      (Quote)

  49. My crystal ball tells me Joltin’ Joe isn’t a happy man right now. The team embarrassed him against Hull at home with Ashley at his side. Now he has to make up some more bollocks to satisfy Mike. Something like “look Mike we did the right thing not spending in the summer. We had to wait until that second hand clothing sale you just had to see where you stand financially. And with all those layoffs you just pushed through we can have another pissup on the yacht as well!”

      (Quote)

  50. Leeds should be interesting as it’s a home game for us. Can we perform better in the cup at home? I hope so and I look forward to seeing more of Dummett, Bigi, and possibly even Sammy. A strong 2-0 win for us would do me.

      (Quote)

  51. Ah Smilin’ Mike. I have such fond memories. The way he used to show off his man boobs. The drinking in the stands away at Arsenal. The layoffs. The clever races across the pitch by Llambsarse that he arranged. The brilliant football conferences on the yacht. The return of Joltin’ Joe. It’s all too much Mike. Really Mike stop. Please stop.

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *