Newcastle v Manchester United – Premier League match preview

toonsy

Magpies v Red Devils
Magpies v Red Devils
I’ve been remarkably quiet following the horror show at Southampton last weekend.

That’s probably because what I’d have said about it would have cause great offence, especially if you dislike reading swear words!

It was horrible, toothless and we were played of the park by a Southampton side who took advantage of the fact that we just didn’t turn up. I’m struggling to motivate myself with us having nothing on the line but I don’t expect the same from the players who are paid a lot of money to remain professional and give their all. They failed in that regard last weekend. They failed miserably.

To set the record straight they are going to need to pull something special out of the bag against a Manchester United side who have attracted their own critics this season. That Manchester United side drew with the European Champions in midweek shortly after seeing off Aston Villa 4-1 last weekend. They seem to be gathering momentum and whilst it might be too late for them to rescue their own season it’s still not a good sign for Newcastle.

Newcastle:

Five of the players who played in the 1-0 victory at Old Trafford earlier on in the season will not feature for the return fixture. Yohan Cabaye is now no longer with us after his January move to PSG, Mathieu Debuchy, Loic Remy and Moussa Sissoko are all out while Tim Krul remains sidelined. The whereabouts of Gabriel Obertan are unknown and Sammy Ameobi is also unavailable although Davide Santon could start after completing 45 minutes at St Mary’s last weekend.

Manchester United:

Robin van Persie misses out due to a sprained knee while Rafael and Alexander Buttner are both unlikely to feature due to hamstring complaints.

Previously…

The result earlier in the season means that Newcastle have a chance to do a league double over Manchester United for the first time since 1931. However it is worth pointing out that we’ve won just five games (out of 40) against the Red Devils since the inception of the Premier League.

At St James’ Park we do hold a slight historical advantage in terms of results. The 76 matches played have seen Newcastle win on 31 occasions compared to 28 wins for Manchester United.

However a formidable record at Old Trafford gives Manchester United the upper hand overall. Including the Charity Shield in 1996, FA Cup final in 1999 and FA Cup semi-final in 2005, a total of 156 games have been played between the two clubs. Manchester United have won 71 of those, Newcastle just 41 with 37 draws making up the numbers.

Stats and facts…

Loic Remy has missed the last five games. In that sequence we’ve scored one goal and picked up one win, both if which happened against Crystal Palace.

Wayne Rooney has scored ten goals against Newcastle. Only against Aston Villa has Rooney scored more.

Manchester United have the best away record in the Premier League having picked up 30 points from 48 on offer.

Newcastle have won only four of their last 14 Premier League matches.

Final thought…

As much as I’ve been critical of our levels of motivation recently, I’m not too bothered about that for games like this. For whatever reason we always tend to be able to get ourselves ‘up’ for games like these and if we haven’t got a point to prove after last weekend then we may aswell all get our buckets and spades out now.

However I think the amount of players we have missing will cause us a problem, particularly in attack where we’ve looked impotent without Loic Remy. Sometimes stats lie but our record without him has been poor and that can’t be ignored. Unfortunately I think it will once again cost us in this one.

Howay the lads!

Date: Saturday, 5th April, 2014

Time: 3pm

Venue: St James’ Park

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.

View all posts by toonsy →

You may like these posts

876 thoughts on “Newcastle v Manchester United – Premier League match preview”

  4. Change isn’t always good. Where did you get that from.

    Continuity can be equally as good.

    I don’t see any benefit in replacing Pardew whilst Ashley has the same policies.

      (Quote)

  5. Kim I think England will find it tough against Italy and Uruguay in the group stages if i’m being honest. Harry Rednapp might bankrupt QPR like he did Portsmouth and take on the England job if Roy gets the boot. Alan Pardew might have shot himself in the foot for that head butting incident like you said. I would love to hear him bull **** the England fan’s with a smirk on his face. Here’s a list of excuses with had to put up with.
    1. The grass is to long ( one of his best)
    2. We can’t compete with them ( given up )
    3. Injuries ( every manager can say that)
    4. I didn’t have my best player’s today ( belittling the ones trying)
    5. Blaming the youth player’s ( even if they don’t play)
    6. We couldn’t get anyone over the line ( not his fault)
    7. Ashley doesn’t understand football ( look in the mirror)
    8. To many games ( classic )
    9. It was my fault today ( he couldn’t be to honest saying that)

      (Quote)

  11. Are things so bad at NUFC that nobody wants to talk about it anymore… 🙁 🙁 🙁 👿 👿 🙁 🙁

      (Quote)

  14. KIM aye just read that and IMO he’s right, I see from that last statement about signing players in early or mid. 20s we won’t make a effort to sign Remy he’s 27 and over the limit not that he would sign anyway

      (Quote)

  15. What’s the bet that Remy, Sissoko and Debuchy are back for the last three games – to prove their fitness to the French coach!

      (Quote)

  16. Ice — can’t believe any of the bollocks coming out of the club. Charnley says we’ll sign 2 a year. Pardew wants 5 and there’s about 9 leaving. Can’t wait for next season 😳

      (Quote)

  17. **** knows what will happen but im not reading too much into this statement after the summer of “no capital outlay” where we waded through dozens of lists of bosmans as the club wouldnt apparantly spend anything, Only for them to sign Ben Arfa, Tiote, Perchino and Gosling (with a fat signing on fee to exploit a loophole) and somehow manage to cobble together a decent team.

    They broke their under 26 signing policy with Debuchy, Cisse and Gouffran. They broke their policy of not giving contracts to older players with colo, Jonas, Williamson and ahem Shola.

    They went back on their promise of attractive attacking football after Fat sams sacking, When Keegan was replaced by the ex manager of the 80s/90s most famous long ball merchants.

    They have scrapped the director of football structure twice after hiring buffoons. Instead of trying again with a half competent appointment.

    Frankly they dont know which template they are following any more than we do, Expect the summer to turn out anything but how Lee Charnley has laid out for us… 😕

      (Quote)

  18. Very well said CC @617. That sounds completely accurate to me mate. They don’t know what they’re doing. The blind leading the blind. The summer will be difficult to suffer through for us I’m sure.

      (Quote)

  19. Ice, There is a real sense of confusion coming from on high ,lots of strange goings on if you ask me mate. Also find it odd that Jabba has now decided to get more hands on with taking a seat on the board of Toon. Does this signal a more interested approach in the club by him or is he looking to wrap things up over the next season 😕 he’s never been that bothered in the day to day running before like. Also he’s just sold off £220m shares of SD rather hastily , is this because he has a strop on over not getting his £70M BONUS or because he needs to free up capital? ,he may be worth £3.3Billion but it’s mostly tied up in stuff. No one seems to know quite what he’s up to at the moment in the world of finance especially , the city are still waiting to see what’s happening over the stake he may or may not of got in House of Frazer as that’s still not clear . SD shares fell over night after he sold off those shares, that’s one in the eye for the other share holders who denied him his bonus . 🙄 , He is certainly making a lot of enemies in the world of finance that’s for sure, what with the Toon fans too ,he’s a real Billy no mates.

      (Quote)

  20. I’m dead chuffed with this appointment. This is a man who clearly knows how to suck up. He will be right in the queue beside Alan all summer. Plenty of opportunities to be had I’m sure. Charnley, a new legend in Geordie football management. Brilliant.

      (Quote)

  21. We have a completely settled back 4 of…… 1. Willo is our man. Yes, that’s it. We don’t need any incoming back there. Colo wants to leave, Saylor has been cack, Debuchy is unsettled, Santon hasn’t played well, Dummett and Haidara aren’t ready (Dummett may never be). So that’s the defense taken care of. Up front we have…… Shola and Cisse as our own strikers. Plenty there then. So what are you lot complaining about? Everything’s sorted. Charnley will have very little to do this summer. One or two signings just for fun possibly. 😯

      (Quote)

  22. G2 ,if it really is 1 or 2 which could easily be just 1 like ,then presumably that will be a forward. Given we aren’t getting ANY decent service from out wide to our existing forwards then it follows that whom ever is up front we will look pretty much the same play wise as this season . 🙄

      (Quote)

  24. KIM he a **** of a man that’s for sure would love for him to fall on his *** how can anyone live without friends or family must be a lonely sad guy must get a kick out of upsetting/hurting people,maybe he wants to use that 200mil to set Rangers up and buy them some good players,one thing for sure he won’t spend it on the toon

      (Quote)

  26. Ice ,well it has crossed my mind , it is all a bit odd like. He’s certainly an impulsive guy , part of me wonders if he’s bi-polar tbh. He’s up and down like a donkey with his changes of direction and decisions.

      (Quote)

  27. I don’t even have to look at the midfield. It’s completely sorted. Got rid of that troublesome Cabaye. Marveaux is shunned. Obertan is waiting to have his breakout year with us. Benny is planning on putting on some more weight so he only has to play 5 minutes per game max. Beautiful.

      (Quote)

  28. In fact everything is in such good shape I’m not sure what we need Charnley for ice and Kimtoon. And with Mike coming onto the board it looks like overkill. We should win the league next season with this group of supreme football minds at the top. Beautiful.

      (Quote)

  30. As you all know I have been a strong supporter of our owner Mike NoNuts for ages now. He leads by example. He never flares his nostrils. He dances with the stars. He moves in sophisticated circles (around himself apparently).The man is a legend on Tyneside.

      (Quote)

  32. These are times to show our solidarity with NoNuts. He’s the owner for us. He will lead us to……absolutely nothing! Just think of it. Years of mediocrity. Get rid of that nasty trophy cabinet! It’s just gathering dust and sad memories. Mike is the New Way. The owner of the future. We were lucky enough to have him become attached to our nether regions. Now he will never leave. Sob. 😥

      (Quote)

  33. From SmallBerries to NoNuts. My Seven Years on Tyneside. A new fact filled collection of reminiscences by our beloved owner. Available in book stores now.

      (Quote)

  34. Let’s get serious people! Let’s talk exciting footy to come. Stoke. What do we think? Have we got the stones to beat them? Are we full of belief? Comments welcome.

      (Quote)

  35. I feel very good about our chances against Stoke. We’ll park the bus. Then we’ll park another bus beside the first bus. Then we’ll hurl insults at their players. Then Willo will hoofball them. It’s our game to lose mates.

      (Quote)

  36. Anyone else secretly (or not so secretly!) hoping that Stoke and West Ham catch us and push us out of the top half?

    I kind of want us to finish as low as possible now… maybe if Charnley and the board see that Pardew threw away a very comfortable top-half position then they’ll realise what an oaf he is!

      (Quote)

  37. I see you are supportive of the NoNut philosophy of not winning any more games than you need to in order to stay in the Prem BLIP mate! It’s very cunning. The lads are much less tired if they don’t have to try once we get past 40 points. Save something for next season. That’s the Pard’s philosophy as well. Beautiful.

      (Quote)

  38. Well we’re all in this together mates. A glorious future awaits us with NoNuts. Firm leadership. Extreme footy insight. Carefully calculated spending. Shrewd managerial appointments. It’s all there mates. Enjoy.

      (Quote)

  39. Well I see jabba is in trouble again with the PL,he has been found guilty of over charging fans for away games they charged fans from Southampton £11 more than he should have,he has to refund them over 1100 of them,serves the greedy pig right,wish they had fined him too

      (Quote)

  40. So let’s take a look at the defense shall we? I know it’s just been reviewed very well but still:
    Krul A difficult year, some injuries, still young for a keeper though. Thin feet.
    Debuchy Has come on strong. Clearly is a decent player who took a while to bed in. Will probably leave.
    Willo Tall, willing, not overly gifted but works hard at his game. Have to take my hat off to him
    Colo Generally decent when the team looks organized. Lost a bit of pace and was never terrific in the air. Solid most games but probably will leave within a year or two. Best seasons behind him.
    Mbiwa: Very difficult season with huge ups and downs. Makes some terrible decisions at times but with a better team around him and some decent coaching might be a very good player.
    Santon A very difficult disappointing season. Does not look like a left back to me. Needs to be reinvented to continue to be worth keeping.
    Dummett Early days but he struggles with a weak side such as ours.
    Haidara Haven’t seen enough of him to judge properly.
    So in other words no changes coming on defense with Mike and Alan in charge.

      (Quote)

  41. I didn’t include Saylor. He’s been ridiculous this season. What is wrong with that man? Strutting about like an idiot. Harrumph.

      (Quote)

  42. Ice@639, How in the hell did he think he was gonna get away with that 😕 Prize pillock , greedy pillock .

      (Quote)

  43. Pardew on the Gin again I see. Does he never learn? Why has he come out and said he’s got a good transfer kitty when the day before the MD has just said only one or two players will arrive per year?

    Why does he keep saying these silly things and why do the club keep depressing all the supporters with their complete bollocks they come out with?

      (Quote)

  46. Ha Ha
    £20M will maybe get us three bog standard players in the obertan class, or two average players in the Colo class. Or one quality one in the Remy class.
    hilarious aint it. NOT
    Clueless.
    This is going to be the funniest summer transfer window ever.
    I assume he will also have any money raised from player sales to add to the kitty.
    So maybe another 10-15M.
    That should be enough for 1 striker and 1 midfielder.
    Don’t even start on the CB slot. Which we have neglected for the last 3 years.
    Looks like some of the kids will have to step up, whether they are ready or not.
    Ah yes that will be a ready made excuse for Pardew to justify another season of bollix.
    Cant wait 👿

      (Quote)

  47. ” the youf gave us no fret” 👿
    “we don’t know our roles and don’t have a process to win”
    “we need to get back to basics in training this week”
    Guff guff guff 👿 👿 👿

      (Quote)

  48. Kim – it’s the wages that as much of a problem as the size of the kitty.
    If we paid bigger wages we could get these on a free transfer:

    Gomis
    Menez
    Kaboul
    Ince

    Then with the £20m could get us:

    Micah Richards – £4m (if you believe the papers
    Siem De Jong – £8m (again if the believe the papers)
    Another forward for £8m – maybe go for Demba Ba or Finnbogason or someone like that.

    There’s 7 players that would strengthen our squad (IMO) with a £20m spend. However, it’s also 3 and a half years worth of signings 🙄

      (Quote)

  50. Kim – I know :sad:. The point I was trying to make though is that if our kitty is only £20m then we should be exploiting the free transfers.
    Those for players (Gomis, Menez, Kaboul and Ince) could all be signed up on pre contract agreements NOW, if we paid the wages!.

    Gomis improves Shola
    Menez improves Marveaux
    Ince improves Obertan
    Kaboul improves Saylor

    Squad players that don’t really contribute anything then improved, it allows you to spend your kitty on first team improvements.

      (Quote)

  51. Sharpy, Your preaching to the converted mate, we all know it makes perfect sense but does Jabba & co, and even if he does is he bothered enough to sort it 😕 Nah course not.

      (Quote)

  55. KIM you got to admit its a laugh watching JM antics in these games,had a
    face like someone sucking a lemon before the game when interviewer asked him about the last game they came back from he gave him short shift lol

      (Quote)

  56. Ba’s goal was so simple. How much do we miss that presence in the box, someone to get on the end of the simple/half chances and convert. We’ve just not been the same since we lost him, Remy has filled the void but we are in dire need of a true, consistent striker.

      (Quote)

  57. Ice, aye 😆

    Newkie@656 , Apparently he’s told Chelsea he wants away come summer, West Ham were linked but have distanced themselves as have others over apparent ‘ fitness’ concerns what ever they are 😕 . Ba apparently fancies a move to Italy if no PL clubs come in.

      (Quote)

  58. Kim-wouldn’t surprise me if true, he’s doubled his wages but he has wasted away a bit at chelsea, they simply don’t accept journeymen strikers and he was never going to really force his way into the first team for long-even with torres so shaky. I mean when they seem to be considering getting rid of lukaku then you just know they have some 80 million player or something stupid in their sights…

      (Quote)

  60. Cabs doesn’t seem to be enjoying his 15 min run outs either. Grass isn’t always greener boys! (but then I guess they have both doubled their pay-at the least!!) 😕

      (Quote)

  64. BB-Aye he would be too expensive for us now, doubt he’d drop in wages by as much to rejoin. We need to work out what we’re doing with Cisse anyway and look to the future, I don’t think both can be in the same team and be happy at the same time.

      (Quote)

  65. At least Cabs will get a Ligue winners medal – more than he’d get if his favoured move to Arsenal had came off!.

    Aye an ex magpie with a gammy knee knocks the mighty PSG out of the CL! – that’ll give them a good reason to go out and spend another £200m plus in the summer now then.

    I would take Ba back in a heartbeat personally. Totally agree with Newkie, we badly lack that presence since he’s left. Him and Remy up front would have been lethal.

      (Quote)

  67. Well if pardew has owt to do with players coming in I don’t rate our chances much,obertan,and always said he would like Jong at the club and Van the man at Norwich,not one of the three has done anything,Joe got Remy in and made a balls of that too,had some right doozers at our club,and its getting no better

      (Quote)

  68. Crazy that Ashley sells shares worth 300mil and he still owns 57.7% of SD. Supposedly he’s punishing the shareholders for vetoing his bonus scheme, as the share price has dropped with his sale.

    Doesn’t seem like much of a punishment…why can’t he just sell all of the shares, leave SD to sort itself out (and then wipe out our 150 million debt as pocket change) save himself all the trouble and **** off and buy an island in the pacific. 🙁

      (Quote)

  71. Sharpy-Aye they would have been an immense partnership IMO.

    Will be interesting to see if Platini even touches PSG with “financial fair play” supposedly in action 🙄

      (Quote)

  75. Why would any self respecting person want to be associated with these crooks.
    Of course it’s right up fatty’s street.
    Luvly Jubly 👿

      (Quote)

Leave a Reply

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