Sissoko settles it! Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

Moussa's magic moment
Moussa’s magic moment
Newcastle maintained their 100% record for the month of November by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at St James’ Park yesterday.

Goals from Yoan Gouffran and Moussa Sissoko either side of an equaliser by Chris Brunt proved to be enough to give United the points in what was a game of few real chances.

The victory moved us into fifth position in the table ahead of the matches on Sunday where results will likely see us drop a couple of places. Not that it really matters at this stage of the season as it’s all about getting points on the board and we’ve done that in an impressive fashion since the defeat to Sunderland by going on a run that has eased the pressure on Alan Pardew who now must surely be in with a chance of winning the Manager of the Month award.

Tim Krul had to be on hand to tip a long range effort from Chris Brunt round the post but West Brom hardly troubled Krul or our defence for the majority of the first period. Mind you the same could be said for Newcastle who could only muster a headed effort from Loic Remy which deflected wide before taking the lead in the 36th minute.

Yohan Cabaye sent a corner in from the left which Boaz Myhill failed to clear. The ball bounced high into the air in the centre of goal allowing Yoan Gouffran to rise highest and head home from just a couple of yards out. 1-0.

Added time in the first period brought a note of controversy as Yohan Cabaye played Loic Remy through on goal only for the striker to be seemingly pulled back by Jonas Olsson which would have surely resulted in a red card for the West Brom defender had Phil Dowd deemed it to be a foul but he waved play on.

Half-time: Newcastle 1-0 West Brom

The opening exchanges of the second period saw more controversy after Chris Brunt’s robust challenge on Yohan Cabaye went unpunished with many feeling that a second yellow should have been waved in his direction. If he was off the pitch he wouldn’t have been on hand to level the scores in the 53rd minute, finishing powerfully past Tim Krul at the far post after getting on the end of Morgan Amalfitano’s cross.

Parity only lasted four minutes however as Newcastle broke forward. A sequence of neat play saw Loic Remy head to Moussa Sissoko who let the ball roll across him before firing an unstoppable right-footed shot past Boaz Myhill and into the top corner of the Gallowgate net.

A late rally from the visitors failed to conjure up a second equaliser for Steve Clarke’s side who bombarded our penalty area with crosses only to find the United defence, and Mike Williamson in particular, equal to most of them with the one exception I can think of being a header for Victor Anichebe which went wide.

At the other end United had a couple of handball decisions turned away, most tellingly when Yohan Cabaye’s effort bounced of both hands of Billy Jones before being cleared.

Full-time: Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

Not a fantastic win but another three points all the same. It’s reminiscent of the 2011/2012 season where we ground out wins for the majority of the season, not that I’m fussed by that of course. Away trips to Swansea in midweek before a Saturday lunchtime date at Old Trafford await us now. Tough games where positive results are hard to come by.

Howay the lads!

Newcastle: Tim Krul; Mathieu Debuchy, Mike Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Davide Santon; Moussa Sissoko, Cheik Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Yoan Gouffran; Shola Ameobi, Loic Remy

Subs: Rob Elliot, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Vurnon Anita, Gabriel Obertan, Sammy Ameobi, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse

West Bromwich Albion: Boaz Myhill, Billy Jones, Gareth McAuley, Jonas Olsson, Liam Ridgewell, James Morrison, Youssouf Mulumbu, Morgan Amalfitano, Stephane Sessegnon, Chris Brunt, Shane Long

Subs: Luke Daniels, Goran Popov, Victor Anichebe, Saido Berahino, Diego Lugano, Zoltan Gera, Claudio Yacob

Attendance: 49,298

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.

297 thoughts on “Sissoko settles it! Newcastle 2-1 West Brom

  1. 1433:
    FOOTBALL – NEWCASTLE PLAYERS ‘DESPERATE’ TO PLAY – Swansea v Newcastle (1945 GMT)
    Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has revealed he has had players knocking on his door desperate for a chance to force their way into his in-form team.

    A run of four successive Premier League victories has left the Magpies sitting inside the top six heading into difficult trips to Swansea and Manchester United over the next few days.

    Alan Pardew
    He said: “I have had a few knocks on my door this morning from players who want to play. Steven Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse, Vurnon Anita, Jonas Gutierrez are all not playing at the moment, and they are desperate to play.”

    Well Jonas and Taylor can sit right back down for me. Jonas might be a handy one to take over from goof after 60 mins and kill a game off, he used to do well with competition as well.

    But Staylor? Hah. He really is a joker 😆

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  2. Newkie I would like an early lead and hit them on the counter. I would like to see Cisse and Arfa as subs in the second half. Mwibia for Colocini even but Colocini did make me feel nervous in defence on saturday.

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  3. @newkie

    I take no prisoners. I thought you & amf knew that?? I’ve been cutting you both up for a few weeks now 😆

    Whilst Remy has been scoring quite a few goals, i think the real credit lies in our team play. Swap Remy out for another player & they might have scored just as many, perhaps Gouffran??

    Cisse might do well alongside Ameobi too.

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  4. I think Jonas is still a good player. Last year was a bad season for most players whilst this season they’ve been getting back to their normal level.

    Lots of bad things were said about Tiote & Cabaye but they’ve proven they are still very good players. I would expect Jonas to be the same.

    I also don’t think he is just a replacement for Gouffran. Sissoko on the right wing is another position Jonas could fill.

    He was moved around a lot last season, injured & played in an ever changing team.

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  5. Steven Taylor he is to reckless and his deliberate hand ball’s in the box and given away stupid penalties and being a bad loser is enough for me to say no.

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  6. STaylor can be really solid but you just know that he will make a big mistake in most games. Sometimes someone else will mop it up, other times we will pay the price.

    I would look to replace him just because of his persistent injuries. You can’t have a first 11 centre back that is injured as often as he is. 4th choice might be ok.

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  7. KK
    December 2, 2013 at 14:50
    I think Jonas is still a good player. Last year was a bad season for most players whilst this season they’ve been getting back to their normal level

    Agree…or rather I “hope” he’s still a good player, imo he was definitely one of the better performers in the pre season games so I was hoping he was getting back to his best.

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  8. @richietoon

    Yeah, hope is probably a better word for it. There’s no question he tries but he is also 30, almost 31. Hopefully he still has something good to offer.

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  9. Jonas will get a game eventually but his as a sub these days, holding on to a 1-0 lead. If were a goal behind then not the best sub.

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  10. Stem…Agree he probably can’t expect much more than sub appearances but he’s a canny player to bring on to help in defence and to win free kicks to help take the pressure off when we’re under the cosh in the final stages of a game…whether he’d be happy with that is another matter and also I’m guessing he’s one of the higher earners so can we afford to be paying that for a bench warmer?

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  11. KK-You wish 😆

    Richie-that’s what I’m getting at. Jonas on 45-50k, Staylor on 40k+? These are our “purples” apparently but neither of them should be starting a game imo. I really like Jonas but I think last year showed that his time on the wing was over, he has to be commended for the effort he has put in over the years but there is no room for sentimentality and I think his days are seriously numbered. Goof has that extra cutting edge and willingness to get in the box, Sissoko has more potential long term and i’d rather he be on the right for now. Jonas can come on for either and see a game out it’s true but it’s not enough. As for Staylor well he’s had far too long and never learns from his mistakes. I’ve no doubt willo’s form will drop at some point-but I want a new first team CB in who can come in for when Colo goes.

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  12. Newkie At least we won’t get relegated this season. I like the way smaller team’s our beating the giants this season or pinching a draw. Without having to spend 100s of millions. 4 difficult wins against Chelsea, Spurs, Norwich and West brom and if we can stay consistent then this could be a very good season ?

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  13. Oh bollox, I’ll have to retract my previous comments if Newkie is agreeing(ish) with them, I’m obviously talking out of my **** 😉 😆

    that said 😛 , aye Newkie, if money was no object I’d like to hang on to Jonas but unfortunately it is an “object”, mind he might just want to stay and see out his contract so may stay anyway.

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  14. Swansea looked decent during the first half although Shelvey seemed to be main goal threat
    Bony’s def out and Michu’s only just returned to training so toon game should be too early
    Will still be a tough game but this will be their 4th game in 10 days so they may be feeling a bit leggy

    I’m gonna go for a 2-1 win for the toon and our 5th win in a row

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  15. Fack off Richie 😆

    Forget Bony and Michy, Routledge will be scoring against us like our ex players always do 😐

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  16. So, things are going very well for us at the moment so that only leaves one question. What will Jabba do to make it go wrong? He obviously doesn’t like things going too well so I expect him to do one of the following:

    1) Sell Cabaye in January
    2) Spend no money in January
    3) Change our name to Newcastle Sponsored by (For free) Sports Direct
    4) Change our colours to Red, white and Blue
    5) Rent St James’ Park out to a group of travellers to park their caravans during the week.

    It’s got to be something surely. It’s going all too well for him and where is the fun for him?

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  17. Staurt79 It’s going to well to be true at the moment and long may it continue. I have absolutely no idea what Ashley will do next to **** on the fans corn flakes.

    1. Hand Kinnear an 8 year contract

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  18. I don’t think Swansea will be an easy game and it’s away from home so you never know what to expect. I’m convinced Manu will do everything in there power to beat us on saturday. They have a hostile crowd and winning 5 in a row might build there confidence even higher.

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  19. Some stats from the mancs v swans on sunday.

    •Swansea made more successful passes (529) during the match than Man City attempted all game – successful and unsuccessful
    •Swansea continue to dominate every game they have played in – yesterday they had 54.5% possession
    •This was Swansea first league game of the 2013/14 of which they did not receive a yellow or red card
    •Swansea had 9 attempts on goal, 4 were on target
    •The highest passing combination was De Guzman to Tiendalli and Canas to Davies – 18 passes each
    •Ironically all of Swansea’s goal attempts from outside the box were on target. All the attempts inside the box were off target

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  20. BB
    I think the game we beat them 2-0 they had loads more passes and more possession than us. Means nowt if you can’t stick it in the net though. 😛

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  21. DJG – that’s exactly what I put on their blog.
    It got deleted 5 mins later 😳
    I think it will be a really interesting match.
    Pretty boys v grafters.
    HTL

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  22. I’m sure Anita, Ben Arfa, Cabaye, Santon, Debuchy and Tiote could pass the ball all day if they were asked to. Passing the ball doesn’t win games though, scoring goals does. It will be another tough test like West Brom but it’s encouraging if they have played 4 games in two weeks and Man City away was their last game which must have sapped some of their energy.

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  23. Beardsley boots I’m hoping Swansea might be feeling a little tired after the Manchester City game and the europa league game on thursday ?

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  24. DJG – It is folly to underestimate Swansea.
    They have done remarkably well this last few seasons and deserve respect.
    Fortunately we have the great Pardew, who will teach Laudrup a footballing lesson. 😛
    In all seriousness tho, we should be prepared to let them have the ball in their own third, and not go chasing the game. They wont score from there.
    Be patient and catch them on the break.
    They need the win more than we do, and will have to push it.
    So long as we defend well, we will be ok.

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  25. My big worry is that Pardew makes too many changes to the team, in an attempt to accommodate the other squad players who cant get a game.

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  26. So far this season Man City at home have won 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-0, 5-0, 6-0, and 7-0. They just need to beat Crystal Palace 8-0 now don’t they. 😯

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  27. DJG I totally agree with you about the four games in a week and a half but do you think we could get away with resting key players ?

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  28. BB I’m not underestimating them, I really like watching them and they are one of my favourite teams for sure. I do think they are beatable though. We shouldn’t overestimate them either IMO they are nowhere near top 6 quality.

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  29. DJG I wouldn’t rule it out 8-0 against Palace. I’m just hoping we beat Swansea so we can rest key players like Remy, Cabaye to keep them fresh for Manu.

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  30. Stem
    I would think Pardew will rest Shola and maybe the likes of Cisse, Anita and Ben Arfa will get a chance but they should be champing at the bit for heavens sake if they do get a chance, they are all players Swansea would love to have.

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  31. The Lads wont feel so tired on Wednesday. Winning 4 on the bounce helps for sure.
    We really shouldn’t change things too much.
    I would rest shola and play Cisse.
    rest kebab and play Anita.
    That’s all I would change for kick-off

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  32. Players hate squad rotation when they are in the team
    But demand to get a chance when they are out.
    It cant be easy being in Pardew’s shoes

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  33. Steven Taylor just has to be patient and wait for his chance.
    Tinkering with the defence to keep squad players happy is fatal.
    Pardew needs to be strong

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  34. I just wonder if Cisse might grab a cheeky goal you know. It’s a funny thing with strikers. Now that nobody really expects anything from him and he has had some time away. He seem to me like the sort of striker who can’t handle pressure but will score wonder goals when no pressure is on him and there are other strikers in form.

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  35. I’d rest Strolla and bring in HBA, he could give us the extra man in midfield which we will need I against Swansea as they have a lot of the ball a lot.

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  36. I would change it for one game against the Swans. With no Shola there is no point playing the 4-4-2 because non of the other strikers partner each other as well or bring down the long balls. I would play either Remy or Cisse upfront, (maybe Remy 60, Cisse 30 with one eye on Man United) Then I would have 5 in midfield. Swansea pass the ball around a lot so 5 in midfield is better to combat that. Anita and Tiote as the holding pair and then Gouffran, Ben Arfa in a free role and Sissoko as the more advanced midfielders. Sissoko and Cabaye are one yellow away from suspension. I thought Tiote would be by now but he’s ‘only’ on 3.

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  37. Clearly those tweets are a cry for some attention! It would be nice if Troy could provide some insight into her mind set. With Troy being a fully fledged attention seeker himself, he would be well versed in the subject matter! 😛 😆

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  38. JJ That Wigan post is randomly getting spammed again ❗
    Clicked on a v interesting last blog post from it though –
    https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2011/09/04/what-is-our-best-xi/
    Look at what people are saying our best XI was. Obertan features for a number. Jonas for basically all.
    (regardless of whether they wanted him gone) that some were saying Pardew’s 5th place was a fluke is just blasphemous. That team getting so close to the Champions League is nothing other than remarkable.

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  39. ST I think Marv is coming back from injury, so he must be near ready, but where is he going to get a game now 😕 which is a big part of Pards job to keep them all happy.

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  40. Solano-I agree. Players like Raylor, Guthrie, Obertan, Lovenkrands. Even Best and Simmo who were essentially always starters when fit (Cisse only got his opportunity when Bestie got crunched) Mental that we finished above chelsea-and that was the same season where we were robbed at home against them after Luiz should have been sent off!

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  41. Hopefully Pards won’t start making wholesale changes
    Swansea looked decent against Citeh and are a difficult team to beat and only Manure and **** have managed it so far this season

    1-4 ManUre
    2-2 Cesspool
    1-2 ****
    4-0 Mackems
    0-0 West Ham
    3-3 Stoke

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  42. All Pardz needs to do is keep doing what he is doing.. backing the players playing well and benching the ones the ones who aren’t. The only ones that can probably feel a little miffed would be Anita and M’Biwa.. the rest will have to work harder.. simples :mrgreen:

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  43. Aussie magpie It’s good to see Pardew dropping the likes of Cisse and Jonas and not persist in a system that isn’t working or getting any better. M’biwa being dropped after two good defensive displays really disappointed me and he deserves to play over Colocini and I feel safer with him in defence. Colocini can go back to argentina and safe the club 60k a week on wages. There’s a lot of talented defenders out there but we just have to find them. Has Kinnear done his homework or even watched any other team’s I doubt it. I wish Colocini well if he does leave but do we have a plan B I don’t know.

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  44. Mbiwa could definitely feel miffed but this is the trouble with captains, particularly hard to bench or phase out without causing unrest-unless they are totally committed to the club-which Colo isn’t. He could make it easier for us by buying his contract out for 7 mil or so in Jan but absolutely no chance he will stump up any cash, even to spend time with his faaaamly.

    Anita would/should feel miffed if Sissoko was in the middle, but on the right he is doing well. I would like to see him on for Cabs earlier on though, or Tiote if they are picking up yellows and losing some grip on the midfield. He might well be needed in against Swansea, think i’d want to see Anita or Benny as an extra midfield man-and they are better on the break than Cisse would be-and Anita works harder so might be the best choice..

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  45. Stem, yeah the Collo situation is a difficult one but Mbiwa has time on his side. He seems to be preferred over Saylor and an inform Willo is the only thing keeping him out.
    Newkie, good points mate, how would you feel with Anita playing in the number 10 role. Not a big goal threat but he would link up well with the midfielders and striker!

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  46. Newkie like the 4 4 1 1 formation ? Arfa behind Remy and Anita helping the defence and resting Toite and maybe Cabaye for Manu on saturday. Or bring them on as a sub if needs be. It could work

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  47. Aussie-I think he would be a handy player there. You’re right he’s not much of a goal threat and certainly isn’t as capable as Cabaye at shooting from distance, but I think the fact that he is a high tempo, quick footed player suits the forward role better than Cabaye does in a lot of ways. Cabaye can split a defence, or shoot from range, but I feel he really struggles to dictate play in the opposition half because he is a bit heavy footed, he can’t release the ball quick enough to keep us in possession and he can’t quite skip past a man, if he is pressured he will more often than not lose the ball and then commit a silly foul.

    Anita’s frame really suits a more attacking role in this league and he has that extra bit of acceleration and close control needed in tight areas up the pitch. He had some stand out performances in the attacking role like against Stoke last year-if we have our forwards, wingers and full backs making smart runs I’m sure Anita can pick a pass for them. He’ll be better at keeping the opposition penned in and it means Cabaye can arrive late on in a move to recieve a lay off or a late run into the box and strike from distance-which is his preference I think.

    It keeps Tiote away from taking the long shots as well :mrgreen:

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  48. Stem-yep I would do 4-4-1-1. Change as little as possible across the rest of the pitch.

    Ice-bad news that 😕 Mind I always thought Dowd was quite good to us but he was taking the **** vs Wbrom.

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  49. Aussie 😆

    I really wish he’d get another one because his reaction was immense, but he seems to be getting further and further away from the posts 😯

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  50. Newkie, yeah it was a classic celebration.. when ever I hear the crowd chant shoooot when he has the ball, I think “here we go, where the fuk is going to end up?” 😆

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  51. Aussie 😆 Yeah was I think it was against Norwich where Tiote must have tried shooting about 5/6 times in a row. The crowd just started shouting “shoot” whenever he picked up the ball after that 😆 Think he got the message though. It would be nice if he could add it to his game like the Essien of old but it’s probably best to just keep him as far back as possible!

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  52. Newkie, im just happy to have him playing some good footy again to be honest. He has been playing well… 🙂

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  53. I agree with those who are saying that Mbiwa shouldn’t have lost his place. I would prefer him partnering Williamson against Swansea especially if we push up higher with 5 midfielders. Collo is a good player technically but his lack of pace sticks out like a sore thumb after Mbiwa has been in the side and I always think if someone quick gets through they will just be away. I actually think Mbiwa is a little braver in the air as well and more suited to the premier league than Collo in terms of the style of player he is. Plus I don’t think Collo is the player he was 2 years ago, same as Guttierez.

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  54. Jonas isn’t the same player he was 2 years ago but he annoyed most fans last season by his lack of pace and terrible crossing up front. His made his millions now and should only be used as a sub or maybe an fa cup match and if he isn’t good enough drop him. No other club would buy him because of his wage demands our to high and he isn’t good enough to make a top 4 side. Fa cup and carling cup or even europa league is all his good for.

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  55. I wonder if any of Curtis Good, Lubo Satka, Remie Streete and Kevin Mbabu will push through to the first team at some point in the next few years, they have all been touted as promising talent. If it turns into another lost generation then I think we need to ask why these players aren’t developing enough to be of use to the first team.

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  56. DJG-At least there is that news about the new training facilities. Personally I think we need to invest more in our coaching, but no question our facilities are a joke compared to Manure, Arsenal, Liverpool, Man Kitty etc. I’ve not read much on the stuff and It’s not like we’re going to seriously bridge the gap here, but putting us as “best of the rest” would be a start. Only issue here is, will we be signing any players to make use of them! 😆

    http://www.nufc.co.uk/articles/20131130/united-announce-new-training-ground-plans_2281670_3555556

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  57. Things are looking so strong for the toon at the moment. Mbiwa, Benny, Anita must be busting a gut in training to get in. Then there’s Saylor, Jonas, Cisse, Marv, Sammy, Haidara, Dummett. That’s a lot of potential starters and way more than we’ve ever had.

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  58. Georgio- its nice to have depth for weeks like this. Pretty sure we’ll see mbiwa, Benny, Anita, cisse, hadeira/dummett and maybe even Marv get a start over the next 2 matches

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  59. Alright lads, just got back from Hospital with the lad. Had to take him to the respiratory hot clinic for chest xray and assessment by a chest consultant as GP was worried about his sats when we went back today. Anyway he has a pneumonia but they have let him back home with a stronger antibiotic so heres hoping he responds better, his breathing is awful .

    I see Ice put up a link saying Webb is ref for tomorrow 👿 I hate that get, I’m sure he dislikes us, I’ll be watching him like a hawk tomorrow assuming we’re still at home and not back up the BRI 🙄

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