Game On! Newcastle v Manchester City

Game On at SJP
Game On at SJP
Good day everyone, and welcome to this ‘Game On’ article which will take us through our meeting with Manchester City this afternoon.

Generally speaking we give it good go against top teams at St James’ Park although we don’t always get the results in our favour. However Manchester City are one of those sides we just never seem to give a good account of ourselves against.

Perhaps it’s just me that thinks that but our results against them have been poor, especially since they became a real force in the Premier League. As documented in the match preview, our last win against the boys from the blue half of Manchester came over eight years ago and the way they are playing at the moment unfortunately means that I can’t see that statistic changing come full-time today.

The key for me is giving it a real good go. Alan Pardew has a tendency to sit back against the stronger sides and see how things go, but against City at the moment I don’t think we’ll get time to do that so we need to be at them from the word go. Give it our all for 90 minutes and you just never know…

You can see a full preview ahead of the match by reading the previously linked preview. It features a history of the fixture, some stats and facts along with early injury news for both sides. For actual team news you’ll need to look at the bottom of this article about an hour before kick-off and you’ll see it in full.

The game is being shown here in the UK and is also being broadcast by a plethora of overseas channels so hopefully there won’t be a lack of streams like last weekend. If you do find a decent stream then please share it by leaving a link in the ‘comments’ section below.

That’s my rambling over with and now it’s up to those at St James’ Park to do the talking. The big question is will those in black and white be leaving us purring with positives or will we be pondering another poor performance?

Howay the lads!

Newcastle:Krul; Santon, S.Taylor, Williamson, Yanga-Mbiwa; Anita, Tiote (c), Cabaye; Sissoko, Remy, Gouffran

Subs: Elliot, Haidara, Gosling, Marveaux, Sammy Ameobi, Ben Arfa, Cisse

Manchester City:Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany (C), Demichelis, Kolarov, Nasri, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Silva, Negredo, Dzeko

Subs:Pantilimon, Richards, Lescott, Clichy, Garcia, Milner, Navas

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.

416 thoughts on “Game On! Newcastle v Manchester City

  1. <<<<<<<<<<<<<,,, as for nasri who really gives 2 hoots not me over here you see them tackles all the time and 99 times out of a 100 bit of the old magic spray dos the trick,and after what happened to afra against them im just disappointed the little creep aint out for longer meself 😯
    ,

      (Quote)

  2. I honestly think the reason they don’t want technology used is that it would make everything fairer, meaning bigger teams don’t get all the calls going their way. I’d have it a guess that if all 20 EPL clubs voted on whether technology should be used in decisions like this, 4 or 5 of the top teams would vote no. Imagine things being fair? Everton might make the Champs League instead of Man Utd. Not just for Utd and their fans but this would be bad for the game in UEFA’s eyes. Less viewership worldwide, less interest, less money.

      (Quote)

  3. KK,
    Five of Cisse’s wrongly chalked off goals were in the league. Two were in Europa.

    He’s had one wrongly chalked off this season.

    His average goals per minute is one goal every 199 minutes. Which equates to a goal every 2.2 games. Hardly useless that.

    Against the lesser opposition, I’d be playing Remy on the right, Ben Arfa on the left and Cisse in the middle, with Marv behind them. Obviously used in rotation with Gouff.

    Behind them two of Cabaye, Tiote, Anita and Sissoko all used in rotation.

    I can understand Pardew sacrificing offensively against the top six teams, but the rest we really should be more offensive. We’ve got some talented goal scorers but we don’t create many clear cut opportunities for them.

      (Quote)

  4. Also, re you Ben Arfa is less selfish that Gouffran.

    Don’t think that’s true. I think he has more assists because he simply has more ability and he spends more of his time in the final third of the pitch taking shots and going for those miracle balls.

    When it comes to team work and graft Gouffran is head and shoulders above him.

    But like I said, Ben Arfa is the more creative by far.

      (Quote)

  5. why we back on the afra debate most know why he aint in the team never tracks back,most makes the wrong decision to pass or shoot,hes an impact sub at best to come on later in the game if we need a goal,when the other side is starting to tire so him tracking back then aint that important

      (Quote)

  6. the difference between goofy and afra is goofy runs his socks off trying to help defend unlike afra whos just a lazy **** when it comes to tracking back and if afra wants a 1st team place he better suss out why he aint in the team and work a lot harder at that part of his game 😯

      (Quote)

  7. It’s sad that Nasri chooses to not take the call from Mbiwa so that he can apologise in person. It’s admirable that Mbiwa has apologised as it’s a lot more than De Jong did to Benny as I recall ,and I don’t remember that little scrote Mcmanaman at Wigan apologising to Haidara either for that matter.

      (Quote)

  8. Gary Nev likens Mbiwas tackle to an assault and he may well be right but I still maintain he didn’t intentionally try to maim him .

      (Quote)

  9. Kim-aye it’s not like Nasri to sulk 😆

    I agree with you, I think Mbiwa was trying to chop him down though, but not cause any serious injury. It was weighing up the circumstance and deciding a professional foul might keep us in the game. Compare that to De Jong who I believe had been instructed, or who took it upon himself to make sure he had the opportunity to rough Benny up and did so at the first opportunity-and unfortunately that was all he needed.

    City had songs for him about his going to ground tackles ffs his game was built on it.

      (Quote)

  10. Hi guys and gals.

    Been working long hours over weekend but will hopefully be catching up with stuff today. Will probably skip the match report for the City game. The fact that Mike Jones has been dropped from this weeks PL games probably says all we need to know but will get something up later.

      (Quote)

  11. Newkie, I was chatting to City fans on a forum yesterday and pointed out about De Jongs tackle but they maintain it was a fantastic tackle and it was only his momentum that did for Benny 🙄 Words fail me frankly.

      (Quote)

  12. Kim-sounds about right. They are becoming more and more like Manchester United fans, I used to quite like them but their justifications for that terrible decision coupled with the fact that they think the ref game them a hard time!

    Guess it just shows how different a football match can look to different groups of people.

      (Quote)

  13. I am biased but I don,t think Kim that Mbiwa’s tackle, although bad, was intentional. Had Nasri not been injured no more would have been said about it. People do get injured in football and one cannot say that because an injury is bad the tackle is horrendous. Sometimes, fortunately horrendous tackles result in no injuries; it’s just good luck or bad luck. Since the Wigan incident Haidara has been at the wrong end of two shocking tackles and fortunately this time he was ok. Against Arsenal an Arsenal player nearly put Benny out of the game. I am not defending Mbiwa’s tackle. I am just saying I see worse most weeks in the Premier League and nothing is said or done. See what John Terry gets away with week after week.

      (Quote)

  14. What goes round. Nasri’s tackle on Walker, De Jong on HBA, MYB on Nasri. Personally I think both Nasri’s and MYB’s were spiteful, whereas NDJ on HBA was awful.

    Glad to see MYB repentant, something neither of the other two could manage.

      (Quote)

  15. Kim – I was listening to a Talksport phone in the other night and the Man City fans were ringing in complaining about the toon fans booing Nasri getting stretched off – but the toon fans were ringing in saying it was coz Milner was coming on in his place.
    I think our relationship with Man City is scared after Sundays game – with Pardews foul mouthed rant at MP and MYMs tackle 😆
    Oh well, looks like we might not get to sign Kompany, Yaya or Aguero this window then 🙄

      (Quote)

  16. What ever the rights and wrongs I don’t like to see any player injured. It is after all their livelihood. I’d even extend that to Suarez.

      (Quote)

  17. Sharpy ,That’s outrageous, on tv all you could see was Toon fans clapping the lad off, even the commentator said they were. I sometimes think rival fans go on a witch hunt after one of their players has been tackled poorly or they do it to mask an unfair decision that gifted them the game as in this case. Truth is for all but the first 20 mins we were the better side imo and even a lot of press are saying the same. That’s embarrassing for city fans who are getting used to slaughtering sides on a weekly basis, it’s a bit of the old Manure mentality which is classless.

      (Quote)

  18. Groucho-their livelihood aye but for people like Suarez he doesn’t actually need to play any more footie and he could still live a life of luxury. In some instances I just can’t help but think they’ve earned it through karma.

      (Quote)

  19. Kim – do you think Pardew instructed them to go out and rough the City players up a bit or do you think it was out of frustration for the Tiote goal.
    The players seemed alot more physical in their challenges which knocked the City players off their stride. I’m not suggesting we were dirty, just right in their faces.

    Newkie – I’m not obsessed with the lad, just reckon he’d be a potentially good buy. I can’t see him being a City first team regular when they could go out and spend £30m on someone else.

    KK – I have no fear about the financial management of our club. I’m bothered about the playing staff. We can’t replace Jonas while he’s still on our books, and I can’t understand why we loan him out half way thru the window?! Why not say to Norwich that we want to sell him, but if we haven’t by the end of the window then we’d loan him then.

    I’d have also accepted £9m for Cisse!. £9m for what Pardew clearly sees as his sub striker?!

      (Quote)

  20. PREM most players commit fouls during a game,but i have watched him play quite a bit even when he was at the gunners he is a dirty but very sly git its just come back and bit his *** imo

      (Quote)

  21. @newkie

    I don’t think anyone knows for sure how many legitimate league goals cisse scored last season but what can be said is that his goals per game for last season isn’t bad. It’s quite decent tbh.

    @JJ
    1 goal every 199mins for cisse is very good for a player that is in the worst form of his life. When he does find his form he wil be hugely impressive & definitely worth more than £20m.

      (Quote)

  22. @jj – 381

    I will check their defensive stats to see how they compare but from an attacking point of view, both players have been just as effective compared to each other.

    The difference is ben arfa has provided more assists than gouffran whilst gouffran has scored more goals so ben arfa benefits his team mates more.

    @tae
    Ben Arfa has provided more assists than gouffran which suggests that he does know when to pass.

      (Quote)

  23. @JJ

    Agreed, the line up with ben arfa, marveaux, remy, cisse all startjng is probably our best going forwards.

      (Quote)

  24. I’ve played and watched football for many years now and have lost count of the number of fullbacks who bring down a winger who beats them for pace.
    MYM was a professional foul. He kicked out at Nasri to stop an attack – he did not kick Nasri with the intention of injuring him and taking him out for weeks.
    I believe that MYM went into the tackle ready to pick up a yellow card for the team to stop the attack – nothing more nothing less.

    This talk of ‘what comes around goes around’ is bollocks!. He would have made the tackle regardless of who the player was. It was a yellow card offence – the injury was just an unfortunate result of the challenge.

      (Quote)

  25. SHARPY my worry now is with all the press reports refs will be on the lad with every tackle he makes thats the problem

      (Quote)

  26. Ice – that’s because you have two faced gobshite like Neville and Carragher sat there saying the challenge was an ‘assault’.
    Like Neville never made a rash challenge in his whole career!.
    Yes he’s kicked out at the lad – there’s no doubt about that.
    But he hasn’t ran the 30yrds and made a 2 footed knee high challenge.
    Was it a worse than Debuchys lunge? – not for me.
    The challenge has been made worse by pundits like Neville claiming it to have been an assault – utter bollocks!.

      (Quote)

  27. Can anyone state Cisse’s disallowed goals last season?
    I hear “7 goals” mentioned quite a lot, but I think it’s bollocks tbh.
    Haven’t got time to look them up, I know there was definitely 1 against Benfica, and 1 against the Mackems. I know that he had 1 against Soton that was actually offside.
    Would be interested to see an actual concrete list if people are going to use that (quite sad) excuse for him.
    This is all I’ve found on it so far: http://www.toonforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4845
    When I get a chance I’ll look through it if no one else has.
    Here’s one that I assume the “7” includes:
    http://nufc.com/html/2012-13html/2012-10-07man-united-h.html
    Pardew quoted as saying it didn’t cross the line.
    And on the “disallowed goal” earlier this season – the goalie had stopped bloody playing ❗ ❗

      (Quote)

  28. http://nufc.com/html/2012-13html/2013-02-14metalist-h.html
    “On the first disallowed goal, at full speed it’s a tough call with the defender running out and Moussa Sissoko charging forward, although on freeze frame he was definitely onside. Incidentally, both Sissoko and the ‘keeper hear the whistle and see the flag before Cisse puts the ball in.

    The second disallowed goal was correctly flagged”

      (Quote)

  29. Jesus.
    So it looks like of the “seven”, only two were actually wrongly called.
    And with the Southampton disallowed goal he is only 1 goal down.
    Lets stop making excuses for him based on goals that were correctly ruled out now.

      (Quote)

  30. @ KK
    you keep churping on over there about afra which part of he cant defend is to much for you to understand bud

      (Quote)

  31. SOLANOSTRUMPET
    maybe you better do ya home work over there the benfica goals he was onside both times and on 1 of them he was onside by a good 5 yards and its accually 8 hes had disallowed when he was onside

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

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