The latest instalment of the Tyne-Wear derby will soon be upon us and with it will come the inevitable conflicting myriad of emotion.
The last feeling I had regarding this fixture was one of hurt, embarrassment even. That 3-0 defeat wasn’t nice but at least I now kind of understand how a Mackem feels. I don’t want to experience that again but unfortunately I can’t do a lot about it. It’s up to the players to make amends but a brief sit down with a DVD of that game at St James’ Park last season should at least get the players fired up for it.
Anyway, I really don’t need to go on. We all know what this means and on the other side of the divide is a fan base who will be thinking and feeling exactly the same as we are.
The match preview went online yesterday so it’s there for you to view if you wish to do so. It’s accessible using the links at the bottom of the page and features injury news, stats, facts and a history of the fixture. The official team news will be published below as and when it becomes available.
For a number of reasons this game is an early kick-off. Safety is one but also Sky TV have had their say as they always seem to do. The good news with that though is that the match is live on the TV here in the UK so catching a stream should be that little bit easier. Also a whole host of overseas channels are broadcasting the match thus increasing the possibilities further so if you do find a decent stream then please share it by leaving a link in the ‘comments’ section below.
That’s it. I’m off to bite my fingers down to the bone. See you on the other side!
Howay the lads!
Sunderland: Kieren Westwood, Phil Bardsley, Andrea Dossena, John O’Shea, Carlos Cuellar, Lee Cattermole, Jack Colback, Sebastian Larsson, Adam Johnson, Jozy Altidore, Steven Fletcher
Subs: Vito Mannone, Ki Sung-Yueng, Craig Gardner, Ondrej Celustka, Emanuele Giaccherini, Valentin Roberge, Fabio Borini
Newcastle: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Paul Dummett, Davide Santon; Moussa Sissoko, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye; Yoan Gouffran, Hatem Ben Arfa, Loic Remy
Subs: Rob Elliot, Massadio Haïdara, Vurnon Anita, Gabriel Obertan, Sammy Ameobi, Shola Ameobi, Papiss Cissé
Ben Arfa was not sharp today. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Should he dribble or pass??
He didn’t know. He was upfront, in the middle, on the left, on the right & his performance showed it, he was all over the place & not in the good way.
We started 460, 451 or 433, i wasn’t sure which but because of sunderlands tempo (surprise,everybody outside the club knew they would start with a high tempo but the coaches & players were surprised!) We switched to 442 WITHOUT wingers or more like 424.
Why could we not impose our game onthem instead of them forcing us to change??
KK(Quote)
Spot on Munich mate @147. Well said. The man is an egomaniac. His management is a joke. He can’t get his way and we won’t toady up to him so he has another tantrum. It’s gotten beyond pathetic. He must have a yellow streak a mile wide down his back. He was probably hidden in the castle watching that game with his only friend Joe.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Tiote tried to be a stopper again in the game but his passing was terrible much of the time. Cisse was lost. Our game plan (such as it was) went out the window. They broke up our play early on and ran themselves into the ground. If we had a decent winger we should have been able to take advantage of that as they tired in the second half. How long have we been going on about needing a decent winger? It’s beyond pathetic.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Will Chris Hughton out-manage Pardew when we play Norwich? I wouldn’t be surprised and they are a bottom 3 club now with a -7 goal difference. It will probably end in a draw and we’ll hear what a great team and manager we have again from wor Alan.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
G2, we should have taken at least a draw today.
We should start putting points on the board before Pardew starts telling us how good we are. Not winning away from home is ok, but we can’t afford to lose these types of games…
Munich Mag(Quote)
So Ashley bans the local press for reporting on the march at the weekend. Like many I was unsure whether it would make a difference to a man that is ruthless in the business world. I was 50 50 but believed something needed to be done. Many fans on the web were very critical of the fans that would make this march and thought them to be an embarrassment to Newcastle United. What do they think now to this banning of our local press. To me the Chronicle and journal have never been overly critical of the Ashley regime. We are now living in what can only be described as a dictatorship. As long as fans are happy with treading water we will never get anywhere. Unfortunately the fans that are happy to do nothing to me are letting the club and the region down. Harsh yes but this is what I believe but I can’t see any bright future until fans wake up and smell the coffee. We as a club are being lied too. Made to luck weak and like fools by a man that does not care about what we think. The defeat to Sunderland I can take but the attempt to stop any negative press towards the current owner is for me and should be for every fan the last straw.
AlbertsTash(Quote)
@munichmag
We’ve mostly seen average performances from our worldclass players but i would say krul, colo, tiote, cabaye, ben arfa are our worldclass players.
I could quite easily see the competing in the champions league against some of the best teams in the world when they are on form.
Krul has been incredibly average this season.
Colo is past his peak so will only get worse.
Cabaye can be fantastic but everybody keeps giving him the ball and then stops moving as they expect him to do a magic trick. Opponents just block him out & then the rest of the team struggles.
Tiote is very good at breaking up the play but his forward play is non existent. In his first season he could actually pass forward without giving it away but it looks like he is being restrained.
Ben arfa could be better than the likes of robben, ribery etc when on form but he is too inconsistent.
KK(Quote)
Well a disappointing result in the end with us being beaten by a wonder strike. I thought we were unlucky to lose the game but then again, Sunderland were well overdue a win this season; just a shame it came today 😥
It was an okay performance with us controlling the game for long periods, this was reflected in us having the better of the statistics. Tiote and Cabaye are beginning to reform the partnership that served us well two seasons ago; the two full backs are also starting to put in good performances. We’ve managed to dominate the statistics in quite a few matches this season unlike last year where we were almost always outplayed and toothless. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again; I genuinely believe that Pardew is trying to be more positive in games with a more attacking approach compared to last season. This may leave us more exposed, but at least we’ll pose a few more problems, the style of football has generally improved also.
Some people on here are so fickle it’s unreal, this evening people want Pardew sacked. No doubt these are the same people who were singing the managers praises after the Liverpool game last week. I’d love somebody to give me a realistic alternative who could do any better than Pardew.
Mihesh(Quote)
Well we were **** poor today, we bossed the game other than the 1st 15 mins but were woeful in final third – HBA needs to get back on the wing and learn to pass, Dummett was poor which is a shame after last week, Cisse is lost, Gouffran and Remy anonymous and Sissoko must have stayed in the toilet as I saw **** all of him on the pitch
They got a lucky break with the Borini goal although Dummet should have gotten closer
Oh well, City then Chelsea and Spurs – get through to next round and then take six points and I’ll forgive them
SteveP(Quote)
That’s not asking much is it SteveP mate? 😆 Beat all 3 then? In my dreams I don’t get that carried away. We’ll be lucky to escape 3 thumpings the way we played today.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
MIHESH #158 on todays performance and nothing else, Poyet had a bunch of carthorses, who galloped all over and outdid us, and that’s after a 4 – 1 thumping at Swansea.
Are we forgetting how close we came to the drop last season, and we are now only 4 points off the trap door with some tough games up ahead.
Lets get real, we do have decent players – its down to how we play them, and Pardew in my opinion is all mouth and no regular end product on the pitch.
ash1001(Quote)
I’m tired of the ashley bashing. I only want to focus on the football. Perhaps mike is being a baby or perhaps the papers were stirring trouble up and that’s why they’ve been banned.
Either way it doesn’t change the fact that we are nowhere near to playing to our potential.
We had a good result against liverpool & pardew got some deserved credit but lets not kid ourselves. Liverpool were below par with an extra man vs a centre back pairing no one expected. The could quite eazily have stepped it up an beaten us.
We should have won today. Better players, long serving manager, players that have played alongside each other for quote skmetime
vs
New manager that was sacked from his last job managing in a lower league, lower quality & lower morale players,
KK(Quote)
KK….howay man… 🙂 are you jesting 🙂 …..”Ben arfa could be better than the likes of robben, ribery etc when on form but he is too inconsistent”.
Ben Arfa couldn’t tie Robbens shoelaces mate 😆 😆 😆 as for Ribery….that’s just crazy. I know cos I watch these blokes every week, and they both cover twice the kilometers Ben Arfa does, with twice the speed…. They are both top professionals, Ben Arfa is still far from being a proven EPL player.
Munich Mag(Quote)
KK – Pardew basked in the glory of a good performance against Liverpool last week, he should also squirm a bit following todays performance against 5under1and. His world class internationals let him down badly.
Munich Mag(Quote)
To me it looks like a complete hash. We have no real primary striker of our own. We have a loan player who has provided 5 league goals. Our own main striker has none. We have a lost midfielder playing out of position (Sissoko). We have Ben Arfa who looks lost at times and seems out of shape??? We have a CB who is not Prem quality (Willo) who is now the leader of the defense. We have no real winger who can run and cross with accuracy. We have a manager who keeps saying how well we played after losses and then explains why we actually should have won. We have an owner who doesn’t believe in a free press. We have a DoF who doesn’t know the names of the players and probably doesn’t know which century this is. Could it happen anywhere else? I doubt it.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Ash1001 I wouldn’t say that they galloped all over us and outdid us, were we watching the same match? The only other chance I can remember for Sunderland apart from the two goals was the Fletcher shot, here are the stats as a reminder.
Possession: Sunderland 49% Newcastle 51%
Goal attempts Sunderland 8 Newcastle 16
On target Sunderland 4 Newcastle 4
Off target Sunderland 4 Newcastle 12
The result against Swansea is irrelevant, form counts for nothing in derby games which are unpredictable. Underdogs win derby games on numerous games e.g. Man City doing do the double over man U under Sven, Everton beating Liverpool, Liverpool beating Man U etc. We were always going to be vulnerable at the back due to our central defensive partnership, at least we carry some form of attacking threat this season to make up for goals conceded, just a shame it wasn’t the case today.
Mihesh(Quote)
G2@165, summed up pourfectly mate :-).
Munich Mag(Quote)
I can’t believe so few people are posting this evening after a derby game 🙄 Where are Icedog, Big Dave, Richietoon, Newkie, Troy etc… defeat too hard to handle perhaps ? 🙁
Munich Mag(Quote)
I don’t blame Pardew. The team he put out was the one people praised for the point against Liverpool and I think he made the right substitutions for the game. It wasn’t him today, it was the players to blame. Despite that, this is a list of some of his “achievements” as a manager, some of which occured since becoming our manager that someone posted on Ed’s blog:
5th place finish
Worst derby record in 40 years
Our worst home defeat for 70 years
Relegations from Premiership
Most goals conceded by Newcastle in a PL season
3-0 spanking by Sunderland at home
7-3 loss at Arsenal
Three consecutive defeats to Gus Poyet as manager.
Not screaming confidence in him as our future.
funkyjesus(Quote)
@Mihesh – 158
I was one of those that praised Pardew after the Liverpool game because I felt he was partly responsible for getting us a point. It was also because Liverpool were below par that we got a point but I still gave him credit because he has improved as a manager.
But you shouldn’t kid yourself Mihesh, there are better managers, who would work for less money in the same conditions as Pardew.
You say you would love somebody to give you a realistic alternative that could do any better than Pardew; you should love me Mihesh 😎 …..i won’t give you 1, I’ll give you 6:
Fatih Terim
Marcelo Bielsa
Rudi Garcia
Philippe Montanier
Frank de Boer
Jorge Jesus
KK(Quote)
I was at work during and after the match so didn’t get to see it fortunately. But I work with a few Mackems and was amazed as I thought I’d get battered with wise craics – nowt!.
I even said to them I couldn’t believe I was getting off so lightly – their response was that it was one game and they’re still bottom of the league.
They also don’t believe that their squad or Poyet is good enough to save them from relegation.
Sharpy17(Quote)
KK,
I do not believe any of those guys would manage Newcastle United in 2013. 2003, maybe, but we are nothing even in English terms now nevermind Europe or globally.
Those guys wouldn’t soil their shoes in Newcastle.
funkyjesus(Quote)
11 points from 9 games now and counting. The one point haul from Liverpool, mackems, Chelsea, and Spurs prediction is back on again I’m afraid. That will give us 11 points from 11 games and somewhere around 14th going into the game against Norwich. Then some much tougher games again. It looks grim unless we get Colo back and Mbiwa recovers form, Benny gets fit and regains confidence and Remy can score. Other than that everything looks rosy.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
@MM – 163
No jesting, there is no doubt Ben Arfa has the same level of ability as Robben & Ribery he just doesn’t show it enough.
I don’t think Pardew will be squirming after todays result. He will be after the next few results. We did actually play better than Sunderland & we did barely deserve a point or a win but he has a bag of excuses:
We didn’t have either of our first choice centre backs
We were away from home
The weather was really bad (it said so on the news)
The players let in an early goal
Sunderland were on the back foot most of the game
Most of these excuses are true but the problem isn’t about what happened today.
The problem is what didn’t happen today.
We did not dominate,
we did not threaten their goal & we did not know what to do with the ball when we had it.
We did not press sunderland,
we did not have the same energy…you get the picture. Lots of stuff that should have happened didn’t happen.
KK(Quote)
From Wiki
Newcastle are England’s equal-eighth most successful club of all time,[1] four times League champions (in 1905, 1907, 1909 and 1927) and six times FA Cup winners (in 1910, 1924, 1932, 1951, 1952, and 1955). Newcastle have played in England’s top league from 1898-1935, 1948-61, 1965-78, 1984-89, 1993-2009 and since 2010, playing in the second flight at all other times.
I personally believe the above makes us an attractive prospect.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Sharpy says
their response was that it was one game and they’re still bottom of the league.
They also don’t believe that their squad or Poyet is good enough to save them from relegation.
They’re right mate 😆
KIMTOON(Quote)
What team will Pardew start against Man City in the cup? He will have to rest a few I would think to have any chance against Chelsea. Torres is coming into form and they are a fine team. I would imagine we will see Anita and possibly even Marveaux against Man City. Willo and Saylor at the back if Saylor is fit? Possibly Mbiwa as a full back? And up front maybe Sammy and Gouffran? It could happen. I would see 0-3 to them.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
KK, interesting list of candidates there but I seriously doubt that any of them will come to the club and work under our constraints. For a start, they’ll want to be part of an ambitious project; the targets stated by our very own hierarchy fall woefully short of this (a top 10 finish with a trophy not being a priority). Given that all of them are also foreign, they’ll look to buy players from abroad which will clash with Kinnear. Kinnear was apparently appointed to help buy more British players, Ashley simply won’t provide the funds to any manager to build a competitive team, It’s the lack of ambition and restrictions that mean we can only attract a certain calibre of managers.
I quite like the list you’ve put forward there, I thought people were going to give the usual unrealistic culprits such as Benitez and Laudrap. Of course I love you! (not in a gay way of course 😉 )
Mihesh(Quote)
Kimtoon,
That’s all in the past though. Why doesn’t Bielsa manage Notts County then if history influences a manager?
We offer nothing in way of potential sucess that any top level manager would entertain us – why weren’t they interested when we got rid of Hughton then?
funkyjesus(Quote)
KK – I see nothing wrong with the list you put forward except the fact that Ashley would install JFK if Pardew is out (IMO). I have ever confidence in that, and would pissing hate it!!.
I said in the week and again at the beginning of this article that I wasn’t convinced about that front 3 and the attacking threat they posed, and I’m still not to be honest.
To be fair, from what I saw, Pardew seemed to switch them a bit and put Benny on the flank and he looked better there. But we desperately need to address our forward options in Jan.
We also desperately need to address our CB ‘problem’. I don’t blame Dummett today, he’s a LB thrown in at the deepend today and had a much better 2nd half. But if Colo is out we have a crisis – and that can’t be right like!.
Saylor is injured to often and I’d replace him now tbh. MYM hasn’t settled yet and whilst Willo is doing ok, he’s not the future of our defence like.
I’m not making excuses for Pardew, coz like Funky has listed, he’s done alot more bad than good. But equally, I don’t want to jump on the sack Pardew bandwagon just coz we lost a game we dominated. I don’t think the squad of players we have are good enough.
Sharpy17(Quote)
FJ , they may of been, it’s not our stature as a club as we do have a rich history and I truly believe we are a sleeping giant, moreover it’s the owner who thwarts any chance of real success . KK showed what can be done with the right backing and but for him not getting out mind gamed by Fergie we could so nearly of had another title to add to our list. It’s not us the fans or the club that look uninviting it’s the owner in my humble opinion.
KIMTOON(Quote)
By that I mean even if they wanted in Ash wouldn’t hire them.
KIMTOON(Quote)
We also have apparently better players now than under Hoots. 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
Thank you FunkyJesus. I struggle to see us attracting a manager that is any better than Pardew. People need to be careful what they wish for as the grass isn’t always greener on the other side if we were to sack the manager.
Mihesh(Quote)
It is possible that Kinnear would take over but nobody actually expects him to last an entire season let alone 3 as Pardew is doing at the moment.
A couple of the managers are French & no doubt Graham Carr would know of them. Mike Ashley will back Graham Carr over Pardew i’m sure of it. Carr just needs to be asked by Kinnear who would be a good replacement and it could happen.
Worst case scenario = Kinnear is the replacement.
Worst Best case scenario = Montanier is the replacement
Best case scenario = Terim is the manager.
2 out of 3 is not bad.
KK(Quote)
I dread another Kinnear tenure, I’d much rather have Pardew over Kinnear. I know Kinnear has said that he does not intend to manage the club but we’ve heard a lot of rubbish from the hierarchy.
Mihesh(Quote)
I think I am in a weird place, I see us a middle club. I think we can do better than Pardew but getting anyone like a Bielsa or Terim is farcical to me.
Ferguson said we are the most unique job though because we can go from middle to bottom or top on a whim. Someone can make themselves a legend at this job, not many other jobs offer that strange possibility.
Who we could get though, god knows.
funkyjesus(Quote)
One thing for sure, we need to secure a striker or two come Jan as we currently have Remy as our only striker, we can write the rest of them off as squad-fillers.
I’m sure we’ve already identified the players (again) and will do everything we can to secure them (within our budget) 😛
mark(Quote)
100% agree Kimtoon – 175
@FunkyJesus – 179
Historically the 8th best performing club in the Premier League.
If you take out the year we spent in the Championship, we’re the 5th best performing club in the Premier League behind Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea & Liverpool.
We currently have the 7th or 8th best squad in the Premier League.
The club is the 20th richest club in the world.
It has the 10th highest attendances in Europe.
The 3rd highest attendances in the most watched league in the world.
All of this without having won a trophy in 50 years! How big would we have been if we did win a few trophies over the years!!
Sleeping giant is an understatement.
KK(Quote)
From Wikipedia about Terim:
Shortly after the success at Euro 2008, he was recommended by former Newcastle United manager Bobby Robson for the Newcastle managerial position, but he was overlooked for the job.
From Fatih Terim’s agent:
It goes without saying that any manager, including Terim, would be interested in a position like this. Newcastle is a massive club with passionate fans and we hope they bring in the right man for the job.
From BBC:
Fatih Terim was recommended by Sir Bobby Robson for the position of Newcastle manager in January. Since then he proved at Euro 2008 that he can inspire his players even in the face of adversity. So Terim is intrested but is he the right man?
He’s won everything there is to win in Turkey, in Italy he did ok however he had tense relations with the owners of Fiorentina.
He’s passionate and was noted for his offensive and agressive football, almost total football at times. Certainly he would appeal to the Newcastle faithfull with this style of football.
KK(Quote)
@Sharphy17
Agreed there is a real possibility that Kinnear could take over if Pardew is sacked but perhaps things need to get worse before the get better. I’m 100% sure Kinnear could not last in the job long term anyway.
I think Pardew has a good idea about the forward 3 of Ben Arfa, Remy & Gouffran but I honestly think the coaching isn’t at the level where they could pull it off.
I think Williamson is too underrated but I would consider a replacement for Taylor. He’s just too injury prone.
You should jump on the sack Pardew bandwagon not just because of today’s game but because he was never the right person for the job.
I disagree about the players not being good enough. Player for player we are miles ahead of Sunderland.
KK(Quote)
Gouffran, Remy, Cisse & Ameobi.
I honestly don’t think that is a bad list of forwards. I would look for a replacement for Ameobi due to age and just because we need someone with a little bit more quality, less injury prone.
Other than that i think Remy, Cisse & Gouffran are pretty scary when on form.
We’re just not playing football in a way that they can score. It’s the way we play not the quality of players.
KK(Quote)
FJ , I agree , we are a Vicky Polard team at the moment with yeh but no but yeh displays ,all the same, given an ambitious owner, (ambitious for the club that is ) things could be great again.
KIMTOON(Quote)
If someone said to me ‘you can replace Pardew or we can sort the squad’, I’d want the squad sorting personally. Pardew will always have an excuse for me while Ashley doesn’t invest.
When you look at our bench today there was no-one I looked at and thought, well if its not working we can look to them to come on and change the game. Obertan, Sammy, Shola, Cisse (at present) none of those are strong enough – where’s Marveaux? Gosling out on loan but also not good enough IMO.
Couple that with our better players not playing well enough – Benny and Sissoko for example. Then inconsistencies from other players and you can see why Pardew can’t decide whether we are very good or very bad!.
We were very good against Liverpool but very average today – frustrating as fook!!!
Sharpy17(Quote)
A managerial change is needed if we want more than a midtable finish.
Anybody that would like to play it safe (it’s not in our DNA) and would be happy for us to finish 10th behind Everton, Southampton & Swansea should be happy with Pardew.
Otherwise jump on the bandwagon. Pardew will eventually go and you’ll be able to say i told you so 😀
KK(Quote)
One thing seems fairly consistent to me. We play the odd decent game and we play poorly more often. That leads to a poor goal difference and a slow slide down the table as the injuries and suspensions mount. I see the same happening again this year. Lack of depth due to lack of spending in the summer (sound familiar?) followed by a poor final league position. Followed by minimal spending unless someone is sold. Followed by more of the same. The occasional dross hiring thrown in there to cheer us up. The occasional Joe rant. The occasional owner tantrum.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I’m glad people are finally seeing what I saw in Sissoko, namely that he doesn’t look fussed and he is a complete liability if he can’t pass 5 yards. Switch him for Anita ffs
Newkie(Quote)
@sharpy17
Our entire team & bench is better than what Sunderland have. We have enough players in the squad for their to be competition for places so why is their still inconsistent performances.
I honestly believe it’s the poor training methods, followed by Pardew & then the players for the utter average performances i’ve seen.
Better coaches
Better manager
Better players
I think it needs to be done in that order. Certainly is easier changing 1 manager than an entire football team.
You’re right about Marveaux. Where is he?? Last season he was the 5th best assist maker behind mata & hazard for minutes played etc.
Now he can’t even get on the bench???
KK(Quote)
Here’s the progression under Mike as owner:
1. Buy the club without due diligence.
2. Sack the manager and hire a club legend, Keegan.
3. Lie to said legend.
4. Force Keegan out.
5. Lose to Keegan in court.
6. Sulk and pretend to try to sell the club.
7. Hire some ****** friends to run the club.
8. Have lots of pissups and lie about having ambition for the club.
9. Sulk when the press try to report the actual events happening in the city.
10. Bannish the press and hide in the castle again.
11. Repeat ad nauseum.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
@Newkie
Again i find myself agreeing with you!
Sissoko has been nowhere near good enough. Yes he’s strong, fast and can sometimes dribble but he can’t pass, shoot and i’ve yet to see him tackle properly.
Sissoko could be epic but he isn’t at the moment. Anita is far ahead of him in terms of form.
And for someone like Sissoko getting shrugged off the ball is just wierd. He has the same problem as Marveaux and what Gouffran had and MYM sometimes has. He lacks the right level off aggression/confidence.
KK(Quote)
Sissoko is probably still adjusting but players need to be selected on form & not how big they are.
KK(Quote)
The Sissoko situation is bizarre Newkie and KK. He was brilliant when he first came to us. What exactly has happened? He seems lost now, much like Cisse. We just can’t afford that. And Ben Arfa is so inconsistent as well. We’re on the edge of disaster again and the next 3 games may knock the stuffing out of us. Then what?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
http://www.thejournal.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-refuse-take-questions-6246275
yes a definite own goal by the club yet again.
KIMTOON(Quote)
KK – I don’t dislike Willo but he’s about 30ish yr old so isn’t the future – nor is Colo due to his age and injuries too.
As for the front 3 of Remy, Benny, Gouffran. Not for me mate. When Cisse came on I felt we had a threat in the box that we didn’t in the first half. We need a CF to play through the middle IMO.
Shola – is not and has never been good enough IMO and can only count himself as blessed to have had the career his had.
Gouffran – is a grafter, but doesn’t carry enough of a goal threat IMO averaging 1 in 6-7 games.
Cisse – what’s happened to him?!. Could be deadly but will he ever refind his form with us?. No PL goals this season.
Remy – in short, isn’t a toon player!. He’s a QPR player and hasn’t really convinced me he wants to stay with what he’s said recently like.
I won’t jump on the wagon mate, because Pardew isn’t a **** manager. He should have the backing of the owner 100% and he doesn’t. Whilst I don’t have a problem with the list of managers you’ve put forward, I’m also not convinced they would be so much better than Pards.
As for player for player us being MILES ahead of Sunderland – on paper maybe, but can you honestly said that over last season and this they are showing it?
Sharpy17(Quote)
right ,been a long day and not a little bit depressing again so off to bed ,night all nice chatting.
KIMTOON(Quote)
KK-Then you are on the up mate 😉 People see a massive guy like him and think Yaya Toure, but he is so weak/uncommitted it is unbelieveable.
G2-To be air, I think I remember the Chelsea game and that is it, apart from that he has been truly woeful. He is a highlights player that flatters to deceive with some long runs when he goes unchallenged imo.
Newkie(Quote)
We sign potential, not current. If Sissoko was as great as the club say he is, he wouldn’t have been left to the last six months of his deal and sold for less than two million. Same with all the other guys we’ve bought.
Santon is the only potential guy we’ve signed I actually believe can achieve the greatness he has been touted for. Everyone else is a player no other team seemed really interested in. If they were, they wouldn’t be here (see Aubemyang and all the others we didn’t sign)
funkyjesus(Quote)
Possibly Newkie mate. I just think he was a better player when he came to us. People spoke of us having stolen him for a couple of million pounds. Now we almost have to hide him like Cisse. It an embarrassment to those having to sit on the bench.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Kim – typical toon under Ashley that isn’t it – I’m taking my ball and I’m going home! (Pardon the pun).
Sharpy17(Quote)
KK – I don’t disagree that better coaching may well produce more consistency from our better players and I’d personally like to see Stuart Pearce as our head coach.
But I think there’s too many average and below average players within our squad. Players like Obertan, Marveaux, Shola and such like offer no competition or threat to the players ahead of them so get rid and replace for me.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sack the fool.
Rodzilla(Quote)
So much for French passion and flair.
What a bunch of gutless cowardly wimps. The whole lot of them.
******* not prepared to put their bodies on the line for the cause.
Not got a single clue what this match means to the fans of this club.
The sooner we get shot of that ****** HBA the better. Never learns anything from one week to the next. Just the same dire tripe time after time.
Very disappointed that Pardum clearly lacks any ability whatsoever to motivate this bunch of twats to give a dam.
Is this as good as it gets then?
For those of you who think we are safe in mid table better think again.
We will be flirting with the bottom 3 soon enough.
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
Disappointing game. We were the better football team which just goes to show how awful 5under1and are because we weren’t very good. We couldn’t cope with the pressing game – just like v Hull. Now every average team knows how to play against us, if they didn’t know beforehand.
Let’s face it, this bunch of players aren’t international class. International players should be able to cope with a bit of hustle. Many of them are just too slow – in movement and thought, and others don’t have the requisite tenacity needed for the PL; they were out-muscled far too many times.
And the media ban is just another administrative joke. Communication takes yet another step backwards at NUFC. If they go any further back we’ll be reduced to tomtoms at midnight.
brisvegas(Quote)
This latest bollocks with the press suggests our owner is getting desperate again and is listening to the criticism. He clearly doesn’t like it. He thinks he is the great savior of the club for keeping us in the Prem mostly (not a perfect record there Mike). Yet what he really wants is the money the Prem provides so he can get his money back. His methods largely haven’t worked and can’t work because he isn’t really willing to do the hard work of learning who the qualified people are to hire to run the club. Turning us into a French side really hasn’t worked either. We have some occasional flair but can’t win the tough, physical games. It’s a strange mix that will never bring any real success. Yet it’s all Ashley will ever have to offer. 😥
GeordieTwo(Quote)
KK – to address your earlier point mate, Benny isn’t close to Ribery or Robben mate. Benny is a one trick pony and if it comes off then it’s majestic, but if it doesn’t then he just looks ball greedy. The number of times he just puts his head down and goes for the shot when there are players in far better positions. That’s the big difference between him and Ribery and Robben, their decision making is so much better and means if its not them scoring they are generally creating goals for others.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Not many positives to take from that game. We are disorganized at times, have a weak bench, lose interest when pressed hard, and have players who look lost. We have a few triers but no real tight team unit. To still have to bring Shola on is an embarrassment as well. Nobody better has been developed yet! Shocking. Man City, Chelsea and Spurs will be rubbing their hands with glee.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We are so inconsistent to be true. There has to be a fundamental problem behind the inconsistency. Is it the manager poor at tactics. The players collectively are poor. We will all have our ideas on the reason. For me something has to be changed or we will see more dross with the odd sprinkling of football
toby le rhone(Quote)
Disappointing, is the word that describes every part of that game for me.. 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Sharpy17@215, keep KK right there mate regarding Robben and Ribery. Ben Arfa is at the moment light years away from being a consistent and average EPL player. To make any kind of comparison to R&R is just plain wrong. 😳 😳
R&R both have explosive body speed, can finish, and have the eye for a pass. Plus they are two of Bayern’s best DEFENSIVE players. Ben Arfa has no explosive body speed, and can’t defend to save his life. Once he gets his head down he is pushed off the ball.
Munich Mag(Quote)
Laboured bottom 8 finish is my prediction. Thank goodness we have Palace, Cardiff and a couple of other poor teams in the league. 👿 👿
Instead of clamouring for his signature, what happens if Remy leaves in January and takes his goals with him…or ends up doing porridge ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
Munich – R&R play for Bayern, arguably the best team in the world at the moment and a giant in world football for many years. Benny plays for Newcastle, who other than a stint in Europa last season, havent featured in European competition for years, and are not a giant in world football. I think that speaks volumes. If Benny was as good as or capable of being as good as R&R, bigger clubs would have him.
I’m not suggesting his ****, just consistently poor. And before the Benny loves blame poor coaching or bad management, other managers would see that (if it were the case) and think, I’ll have him and make him world class (if he were capable of being), but no other manager in world football has done that – again, speaks volumes for me that like.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Bris apologies for @9
Premandup(Quote)
Benny being compared to Robben and Ribbery…nae offence but 😆 😆
Aussie…”Disappointing, is the word that describes every part of that game for me”….Remove “that game for” and that’s what your lass often thinks of you 😉 😆
richietoon(Quote)
wheres all the happy clapping, Pardew loving, Ashley bummin crew 2day 😯
mark(Quote)
Richie 😯 😥
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)