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
Wow, Stoke seem to have done pretty well despite conceding 5. Man City & Liverpool both have vulnerabilities when they’re defending.
KK(Quote)
@JJ – 225
You some it up well.
It comes down to what price people are prepared to pay for winning.
Re Suarez, i’m no fan of his but a season long ban seems extreme for a moment of possible madness.
It’s difficult to be able to correct that kind of cheating as the penalty was missed.
Should a goal have been given instead of a penalty? I’m not comfortable with referees being able make a ball cross the line even if someone handled it but i don’t really seen a better way of correcting a wrong.
KK(Quote)
KK
I know its a severe punishment. But its that kind of punishment that prevents the scenario occurring in the first place.
For me… If a player dives. Straight red. If it isn’t picked up. It should be a heavy fine and a three game ban.
Obviously it depends on the enormity of the occasion. I just don’t think cheating of any kind should be tolerated. Its ruining the game.
JJ(Quote)
JJ I agree with you about the cheating side of the game, I would also want to punish people for bad tackles, if they are not picked up at the time they should be looked at on video
Big Dave(Quote)
We’re on course to finish the season with 60points.
That’s the bare minimum in my opinion with the calibre of players we have.
It wouldn’t be a good season but it also would not be a bad season. It’s the minimum a club likes our should achieve every year.
It also means (based on previous seasons) we could finish anywhere from 9th, 8th, 7th or 6th depending on the other teams around us.
KK(Quote)
@JJ – 228
That’s a very logical way of looking at it. The punishment would be a big deterrent so it would probably almost wipe out any obvious cheating.
@BIGDAVE
That’s also a good point but i was under the impression that they’ve brought it in already for this season after McManaman’s challenge on Hadaira last season? I might be wrong but i’ve never been wrong before 😆
KK(Quote)
BD,
I also think referee’s should be able to go to a television referee as an option during the game.
It wouldn’t waste any time. Look how much time was wasted with players arguing with the ref after today’s decisions.
When a player is lying injured on the ground. Television replays are being shown, so if there is clear evidence of intentional foul play they should be able to radio the ref and say so.
Same goes for goal line decisions.
I’ve also just seen the Tiote replay again. The flag wasn’t raised and the goal was given.
Only once Kompany went to the referee telling him that the player was offsides did he go to the linesman and overturn the decision.
Clearly the referee wasn’t sure and its obvious that benefit of the doubt goes to the goal scorer. Very strange for a player to change a referee’s mind.
JJ(Quote)
Cant fault us players and staff: Man city have lost this season and not been outplayed anything like they were today. Pardew that tactical clown (apparantly) made Pellegrini hoy out his game plan and bring on another midfielder to try and stifle us. They only got a toe hold when we had to throw on some attacking players with the clock ticking down.
Mike jones what a **** you are, 1-1 shooting downhill in the 2nd half we had every chance of 3 points…
CC(Quote)
KK,
Its such a fine margin. We have to remain competitive.
If we lose our next two games, our season is effectively over.
Out of the cups, and we’d likely be out of European contention.
JJ(Quote)
Maybe we could concentrate on the Fair Play league and get ourselves into Europe that way 😉 😆
JJ(Quote)
KK the video ref thing might be going on but I dont think its working.
JJ I think its always been the same with refs 90% of the time the decisions favourthe bigger teams ie today.
As for when a player is lying injuried the ref could watch a replay and get a clearer picture 😕 if that was the case I would have expected Mbiwa to have got a straight red as that tackle was dangerous and totally fuking stupid and there is no excuse for it
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave,
If he deserved a red. He deserved a red. Wouldn’t want there to be exceptions made for us. Although Newkie probably would. I want our success to be fair and honest.
JJ(Quote)
Enjoyed the game today. City have some class players and they were the difference Kompany and Silva oozed class. The Toon gave their all and but for an incredulous error of judgement by the officials it would have been an absolute cracker of the second half.
Don’t like talking about officials but it has to be said the three of them today were a disgrace.
Felt Pardew could have made the Ben Arfa substitution on the hour mark rather than when he did.
Just thinking why we didn’t show the same enthuiasm last week against Cardiff and the season would still have a purpose
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
JJ I dont like cheats and I dont like players getting away with dirty tackles and that includes our own players.
When I say dirty tackles I dont mean a defender tugging a bit on someones shirt I mean when their tackle could seriously hurt another player
Big Dave(Quote)
Well that wasn’t very fair was it? In fact I thought the red was a disgrace…
Sure there’s some who blame Pardew for the goal being disallowed.
Fair play to Pardew too for showing some balls and telling Pelligrino what a ****** he is.
Stuart79(Quote)
According to BBC, Remy has scored just once in his last 10 appearances.
Why do our strikers start on fire then fade into *****?
funkyjesus(Quote)
Stuart,
Can you name one person who blames Pardew for the disallowed goal?
JJ(Quote)
FJ
Two in ten 😉
He looks a bit jaded. Some of the games he’s just had to run like a headless chicken all game and feed on scraps, but I don’t think he has the fitness of people like Goof/Sissoko.
Like most players at our club (the reason they aren’t somewhere better), he just hasn’t quite got the consistency. He’s still the third top scorer in the league.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
FJ,
You just proved a point I was making earlier. Thanks man 😉
JJ(Quote)
@JJ
Yep on paper we ‘should’ win the next couple of games & i’m confident that we will get 3 pts in the next game becuase otherwise we wouldn’t have won in 5 games 😯
@BIGDAVE
The video thing might only be for very very reckless challenges so you’re right, they should expand it. Also my autocorrect keeps trying to change your name to BIGHEAD, only the V is stopping it 😆
I really don’t think Mbiwa wanted to hurt Nasri. It’s just a bad reckless tackle but not a nasty malicious one (different shades of grey).
@Toby le Rhone
I don’t think either team gave their all today. Man City could have been better but we could have been better too. It is a shame as you said that we sometimes slip up against the ‘lesser’ teams.
KK(Quote)
Cabaye, Tiote, Anita & Sissoko is a pretty epic midfield.
Is it a better midfield than what we had when SBR was managing? I want to say yes although SBR had better wingers.
We also seem to have the best defence in my memory.
KK(Quote)
Ba’s 13 goals in his last 20 PL games doesn’t show fading!
#bringbackBa
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
Stuart
Anyone? Anyone who has blamed Pardew for that disallowed goal. Just to add any sense to that statement?
JJ(Quote)
So the bottom two on 17p need to find roughly 9 wins or a combo of wins and draws totalling 28points to give a 45p total to assure safety. Do we think either can manage it?
Meanwhile we need just 12 points 4 wins or a combo to be safe , lets hope 6 of them come over next two games which if we play like today shouldn’t be too hard 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
https://twitter.com/NUFC_Stats/status/422338583224410112/photo/1
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
KK make sure you correct your auto correct as I would take offence to that 😆
ST I wouldnt take Bubba back
Big Dave(Quote)
Dave , Me neither mate.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Big Dave,
I still think you’re a midget and Richie is an ogre. 😉
JJ(Quote)
Kim I just dont see the point in taking a player back that proved he couldnt wait to get out of the club even though he was loved by most of the fans.
Could you really expect him to give us 100% effort ❓ IMO no so how would the other players feel
Big Dave(Quote)
Demba Ba turns 29 this year.
Ashley will never re-sign him. He’s be on 80k plus wages. He will cost 8-10million and Ashley will have zero chance of getting any of that money back. So its a non investment for him.
Plus like BD says. He couldn’t wait to get out the first time around.
Move on…
JJ(Quote)
JJ Richie is an ogre as for me being a midget well apart from me being over 17 stone and 6ft 2 my 11yr old son is called wee Dave or Dede so I get Big Dave 😉
Big Dave(Quote)
Don’t worry Dave, if wee Dave ever gets too big, you’ll always have experience on your side 😛
I’m 6ft but we get some big guys in this country. So I’ve never considered myself to be big. I don’t know what they feed them on the farms over here…
Got respect for your profession being a big guy. Got a friend whose a massive guy, hands like a bunch of bananas but he’s got some skills with a needle and ink.
JJ(Quote)
Very hard luck with the disallowed goal. It shows again that the game needs some sort of one per game video appeal process. That might have changed the outcome to a draw if the goal had stood. We seem to give the ball away at the crucial point of many attacks however. Very wasteful. And I’m increasingly disappointed with Remy. As for Santon, many giveaways again, especially in the first half. It sounds like several players may be on their way out but it might all come to nothing again. Jonas as more or less said goodbye however so he seems to be done.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
BD/Kim/JJ
I would love him back. Best striker we have had in years imo. I don’t begrudge him a move to Chelsea – it’s not like he refused to play or ever gave less than 100% and when played up top has a ridiculous PL goals/game ratio.
I actually quite liked that he had a few games where he moped when subbed as well, he wasn’t scoring and was clearly annoyed with himself, wouldn’t expect anything less from a striker.
Won’t happen though.
SolanosTrumpet(Quote)
JJ tattooing has changed 10 fold over the last few yrs, it used to be most tattooist were big tattooed guys with skinheads that gave people a lot of abuse but it has changed so much now, there is a lot of quiet spoken young people with uni degrees etc.
Big Dave(Quote)
I 100% agree with Solanostrumpet@259 😯
However JJ @255 makes the point that Ba doesn’t fit the profile of the players we usually go for.
Unless we can get Ba for cheap i don’t think he’ll ever be back.
It’s a shame really as he was a good pro. I’m not sure why some fans expect loyalty from most players (especially foreign ones) because as fans we definitely aren’t loyal to them when their performances drop.
KK(Quote)
Big Dave,
Ye, I think it was frowned upon and it was seen a rebel against law and order.
Some perhaps found it a form of intimidation. Its become much more of an accepted artwork.
I’m a talented artist, but I have massive respect for someone that can design artwork on the human body knowing that there is no room for error. With a living canvas.
I’m one of the few of my mates who doesn’t have at least one tattoo, but only because I want it to be perfect. I don’t really know what I want done yet.
JJ(Quote)
JJ,
What point did I prove? I just read the stat on BBC and was surprised at how long his dry spell has gone now. It’s also a constant trend with Pardew as manager – strikers start red hot then fade into nothing. Why does that happen?
I wasn’t even picking out anyone in particular, I have no idea if Pardew ruins strikers or if they start thinking they are Billy Big Balls and get lazy.
funkyjesus(Quote)
Dave@256 Lewis is 6′ 3 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
I can’t see Hull or anyone below them catching us this season but will 8th or 9th really seem like much of a season? I would say a loud no with the quality of players we have We need to finish 5th, 6th or 7th for it to be a worthwhile season of any kind. Make some proper changes Ashley. Don’t wait until it is too late and then do as little as possible in summer again.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Suarez was punished for his cheating in the world cup. He was sent off and a penalty given to the oppposing side so that they could seal it. Gyan ****** it right up. If you’re not going to condone that kind of cheating then you should probably campaign against every one of our players for late tackles because it’s surely the same thing, Mbiwa could arguably have prevented a goal today with his hack down on Nasri, and he also caused a fellow professional injury, potentially serious injury. So where is the line drawn? To me it shows a level of commitment. Staylor’s handball with the sniper was arguably the right choice, he just made himself look like a right ****** mug by going down like he’d been shot 😆
JJ-I despise them as well. You say Arsenal are in a better position now but will they be when Manure completely revamp their squad as is bound to happen? Most Arsenal fans would have swapped their pretty football over the last couple of years for titles as well. How many of them wanted Wenger out before the kick off of the season despite the success he has brought them? 😆
Just shows how fickle people can be.
Newkie(Quote)
G2 you are banging your head against a brick wall mate, sooner we all accept no incomings only outgoings the better our mood will be. I try to avoid transfer gossip as much as possible, though you can’t help but come across it if you visit different sites. I try hard to ignore it now, only getting interested when club confirms bids or see em in a shirt.
KIMTOON(Quote)
JJ-You make me laugh a little with your full on honesty agenda. You might want to have a word with the whole south african rugby lot, the bunch of them are terrible for it 😛
I’m also surprised you respect Barca so much, after all their play acting and hounding of referees is completely classless and feigning injury in that manner is worse than getting an honest challenge wrong IMO.
Newkie(Quote)
“JJ
I think that notion of fans getting on Remy’s back before long is unfair to to those of us that don’t get hysterical when a player has a few bad games.”
“Solano @96,
That statement is very much an individual opinion. There are already people getting on Remy’s back.”
“SolanosTrumpet
January 12, 2014 at 11:27
I can’t see anyone getting on Remy’s back 😯
Few have said he hasn’t been on form.”
Your comment @241 and GeordieTwo’s comment at @258.
JJ(Quote)
Just proves that people judge strikers harshly. The funny thing is that I actually agree with Solano when he defends Remy. But I think that Cisse is also unfairly criticized.
But I agree with you when you say Pardew must be doing something wrong. There is a worrying trend. Our final ball is poor. And while they are missing chances they should be scoring. All strikers do that.
I still don’t believe we are creating enough clear cut chances for our strikers because our final ball is poor.
We desperately need a proper number 10 who can assist and chip in with goals. Our strikers tend to get one decent chance per game and the rest they need to feed off scraps.
Pardew’s solution to this is to play Shola, play long balls towards him and hope that the striker next to him can feed off the aerial ball he wins.
I much prefer, when, like today. Pardew plays the extra midfielder (Anita) and we control the game.
What we need is to get proper creative wide men and a proper no.10 that can deliver quality final ball.
Sissoko, Cabaye and Anita all like to play from deep. So putting them in the no.10 role isn’t really effective.
If we get that proper no. 10. I think although our strikers will still miss the odd chance. They’ll be getting a lot more chances and both could be scoring plenty of goals. I actually think Cisse is the better finisher of the two. But really like Remy as a player (he isn’t ours though).
If we have to revert to long ball to a target man. Then we need someone that offers more than Shola.
JJ(Quote)
Pardew needs to be more inventive with set pieces. Look at the variations of movement that Man City showed from set pieces today.
He needs a better plan B than long ball to Shola. We have more effective players to put on.
He needs to read the game better when making changes from the bench. Taking Anita off today was stupid.
I think he’s been getting the team selection right more often than not recently but good management is more than just team selection. I’m sick of hearing “he picked the right team, how can you blame Pardew!”.
When I think he’s got it right, and we’ve just been unlucky. I’ve said so. But I don’t think he should escape criticism if its warranted. And that’s all down to opinion.
JJ(Quote)
To Pardew’s credit i thought the team were unluckily today not to get a point but next time maybe. no lucks gone our way lately including the ref.
stem(Quote)
You’re probably right Kimtoon lass but I just can’t give up on it yet. 🙁
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I don’t think we played bad against City, Arsenal or West brom but 8th place is the best we can hope for now. I don’t blame Pardew for Ashley and Kinnears lack of ambition.
stem(Quote)
Newkie,
If you can sit there and condone a blatant deliberate handball that prevents a guaranteed goal then I lose a bit of respect for you as a person.
The fact he stood on the side of the field, celebrating Gyan’s miss is disgusting. The fact youngsters see that and think its ok is disgusting IMO.
There is a difference between that behavior and a deliberate late tackle. Which I believe warrants a yellow card. If it prevents a clear goal scoring opportunity, then its should be a red card. If the players then stands on the sideline celebrating a missed free kick. That player should have his ban extended.
I also think a Man U revamp won’t really help them. Their stigma has gone. There time is up.
I don’t think Barca cheat any more or less than most clubs. They just have more of the ball. I hardly ever see the likes of Messi diving. Pedro does and it disgusts me.
I don’t really know what you are getting at with the rugby lot. England are hardly saints. I don’t like it in any sport.
I also never said there was anything wrong with getting an honest challenge wrong. I think the physicality is brilliant. As long as the persons intention was fair and it wasn’t deliberate cheating.
Finally, I also don’t think Wigan or Portsmouth are extreme examples…
You said you’d take silverware over performances. They got their silverware. Their fans were delighted like you would be. But then it all blew up in their face, because there was no solid platform. There was no forward thinking.
JJ(Quote)
JJ you are wise too many people get one just forfor the sake of getting one, but 90% of the time they end up regretting it
Big Dave(Quote)
Anyway. I’m done for the night. Not disappointed by the result today. I thought we did well. Could have been better, but for the ref and a poor decision to take Anita off.
Good effort though. That includes Pardew’s effort. More of the same next week please.
JJ(Quote)
G2 our season is about finishing 8th or 7th this season and compared to last season it’s a step up. Ashley doesn’t have to really do anything now. Its sad but true.
stem(Quote)
@276
That’s also how I feel about getting a replacement for Cisse and how you feel about Pards 😉
JJ(Quote)
JJ-You had respect for me as a person? Cheers 😛
The fact that he celebrated like that was harsh and it does go against the spirit of the game, but equally professional sport is about getting any advantage over an opponent you can. It happens everywhere, in cricket too when people refuse to walk when they should, I can’t give you any examples of South Africans cheating there because I can’t stay awake watching cricket but I’m sure there are instances where it has won matches no?
Blimey I used to cheat playing football at school in order to win, I don’t know maybe it was something the coaches drilled into us as kids. They were Australian after all
I didn’t say Barca cheated more than any other team-i just said they play act a lot (Pedro and Busquets are horrific at it) and cheat to give themselves an advantage- as every side does-but you signled them out for respect so I thought I’d single out their usual forms of cheating. The way they tap players up is hardly classy either.
The South african bit is a joke, the england rugby team cheat all the time as does EVERY rugby side, **** me teams try to con refs for the entire match, the line which is unacceptable depends usually on who you’re supporting.
As for Portsmouth and wigan-of course it is extreme. I said I would never get relegated for a cup. Wigan were often cited as a side we should play like-look where it got them. There are plenty of other sides who’ve won cups…Dalglish won it with Carroll and ***** football, I’d take that, wouldn’t you?
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie thats maybe your problem then you know the Aussies dont mind cheating, so you need to blame them
Big Dave(Quote)
Cabaye is probably our best player and many people’s favourite. He is a dirty tackler and also takes plenty of dives, and also seems very petulant person. And I’m grateful he plays for us 😉
Newkie(Quote)
Dave-aye it aint me, it’s the way I was raised. Seems to be the excuse for most people these days 😉
Newkie(Quote)
A terrible football weekend, ruined by awful referee decisions that lost the game for Newcastle and Brisbane. 😈
brisvegas(Quote)
<<<< thinks we were cheated out of least a point today by a bent ref in my view,he was the 1 told the linesman to put his flag up for something the linesman did not want to put his flag up for.We had to go for the the goal 2nd half which is why they caught us out with there 2 nd goal.Tiote motm for me.Onto remy hes playing **** and needs to be droped early in the 2nd half he was put though and did not even manage to get a shot away and at 16 million dint make me laugh 😯 regarding ba i would not want to see him back he thought the grass was greener let him rot is my view 😆
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
I think they may well have still beat us in the second half and they had a couple more chances that looked like dead certs. Similar to the Stoke – Liverpool game, I think we really turned up and gave it our all but we were just outclassed again by a top side in City. If we turn up and play like that in the next 3 games we could get back on the points trail but we have to show the same desire as these teams who are fighting for survival. Then there is the must win home game against the mackems. Then Chelsea and Spurs, which is hard to predict. Chelsea away will be difficult but there’s no reason we can’t get something from Spurs at home. March looks like a month were we could get some points, well into the 40’s, then there are some tricky games but we should still be pushing for a decent top half finish.
DJG(Quote)
So it seems like Guttierrez is away this window. Good player for us who gave his all. He was at his best in the Enrique partnership down the left IMO, once Enrique left I thought Jonas would not be the same. Santon never formed the same partnership as he is less of a typical LB and more selfish with the ball, whereas Enrique and Guttierrez had a good understanding of each others runs and when to cover. I also wonder if this is one step closer to Coloccini wanting to leave, once his fellow countryman and only other Spanish speaker in the first team squad has gone.
DJG(Quote)
Not convinced by the Arsenal Bid for Cabaye & Santon though £30m will be tempting.
Can see Jonas and Cisse going with Gomis and a winger coming in
Premandup(Quote)
30 mil for Cabaye and Santon??
They only bid 10mil for Cabaye so I doubt 20mil for Santon. I would take it.. if true.
Haidara dropped straight in for Santon. I reckon we have enough midfielders until another becomes available… only at the right price though 😉
mark(Quote)
Well **** weekend all round what with the loss, the Scum and Fat Sams lot winning it all got rounded off with Lew spewing his guts up last night 🙁 Waiting on a call from gp now to get him checked over and I have to cancel yet another respite to boot 🙄 .Poor Lew just can’t catch a break lately, we had a week or two where he was so well as well. Oh and me Dad got rushed into Hospital after his second fall of the weekend , and there was me thinking 2014 would be a better year. 🙁
So Jonas may be off to Norwich then, didn’t expect a Norwich switch tbh, thought he’d go home or maybe Spain again.
KIMTOON(Quote)
Prem, Where did you hear/read that @288 ❓
KIMTOON(Quote)
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2014/01/12/exclusive-arsenal-set-to-mount-30m-bid-for-newcastle-united-pair/
That’s why I am not convinced
Premandup(Quote)
Oh them Prem, wouldn’t believe it then as you say.
KIMTOON(Quote)
aye, with Sagna leaving I reckon theyre playing the guessing game.
He would be a good option though.
mark(Quote)
Got to say I have lost a lot of respect for City fans and their manager with the way they are playing the victim card after our match. Going on about Mbiwa’s challenge-do they not remember De Jong almost ending someones career ffs? Where was their outrage then?
The cheek of their manager to come out and say the ref gave us everything. Maybe our players wouldn’t have been so incensed if he had made the right decision in the first place. Extra credit to Tiote for being the calmest member of the team except Anita really.
On Anita he and Goof disappointed me quite a bit for the first half hour but Anita really grew into the match from then on.
Newkie(Quote)
Nasri out for 8 weeks which is basically nothing, especially from a player who likes to sit on the bench anyway.
Newkie(Quote)
Newkie, Totally agree@295, they have bloody short memories, Bennys leg break was an horrific tackle and meant too imo. I didn’t like mbiwas tackle, I said last night I don’t want to see that from our lads but I don’t think it had the malice in it that De Jongs had .
KIMTOON(Quote)
Kim sorry but I dont really see much difference in Mbiwa and De Jongs tackle in both cases I dont think either set out to end a players career but but were real stupid and bad tackles that could have ended a players career.
Big Dave(Quote)
Terrific effort from the lads yesterday. Our last three games have been very tight with 2 of them being decided by the ref. Overall though we’re not far off City and Arsenal. Bit of luck maybe? Or £300m maybe?
Pardew makes some very strange decisions. Brings on the hapless Cisse for 20 mins, he touches the ball twice (one bounces away from him)..Why? Then he leaves it far too late for Hatem and more or less tells him go and score a goal. When he tries that the fans are on his back for being greedy and not passing. Too much pressure on them both.
This £9m bid for Cisse is bollocks. He’s not worth 2. Now we want De Jong who’s been chosen to play 85 mins this season. 🙄
georgio(Quote)
This from Newkie is a good point:
‘On Anita he and Goof disappointed me quite a bit for the first half hour but Anita really grew into the match from then on.’
I also think Cabaye was anonymous in the first half although he did get better in the second half.
Was it because the players feared Man City before the game?
Was it Pardew’s team talk that put them in the wrong (& subsequently tight) frame of mind.
I think it was the offside injustice although i would guess Anita would have got better anyway.
Perhaps i’m deluded but i honestly think he could become one of the best players in the league especially in an attacking role.
I’ve no idea if he is any good at finishing or free kicks, corners etc (apparently his technical skills are amongst the best we have), but he looks like one of the most promising players we have.
KK(Quote)