Who would you start?

Aussie Magpie Fan

On Wednesday we head to White Heart Lane to take on Spurs in the quater final of the League Cup. Depending on who you ask, this is either a very, very important game(fans) or it is not that important and we would rather concentrate our efforts on premier league games and survival (club). To me the game on Wednesday is a great chance to push for some silverware and we must go in with the strongest team possible. However one eye must be firmly fixed on this weekend fixture against our most bitter rivals Sunderland.

Play or rest?
Play or rest?

As much as I would like to progress in the league cup, I want to see a good showing on the weekend and three points put in the bank after a win.
So with this in mind, there really are a few selection issues that need to be taken into account so that we don’t head into Sundays game with a bunch of tired players. From what I can gather at this early stage, we should have all of our regulars (apart from Janmaat – card trouble) available to play but I do not think we should be loading up the team too much for Wednesdays clash.
I think we should rest Sissoko and start Abied. If required we can bring Sissoko on late to add some fresh legs and drive. I would also look to rest Perez and Cisse and give Riviere a run out so he can get some game time under his belt. I would also leave Taylor out and play Williamson so that come Sunday, Taylor will be fit and firing.
It really is a hard one to juggle, how strong of a side will Pardew be prepared to send out? It really is a doubled edged sword, play a weaker team on Wednesday and lose and there will be derision amongst the fans. Play a stronger team and then lose on the weekend due player fatigue and things will get very gloomy indeed.
I hope Pardew can strike a good balance over the two games and we can come away with two victories!
It would be a very good week of football if Pardew and the lads could pull it off!
What are your thoughts?

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596 thoughts on “Who would you start?”

  30. This is turning into a monkey on Percy’s back now. Totally gutted as really had a tough week and needed cheering up . 🙁

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  33. Well Pards is definitely Puyets *****.

    Thought Sunderland were the better team and could have won by a few more.

    Just don’t understand us lumping long balls to a midget forward line.

    We are absolutely toothless. If it wasn’t for Sissoko and Perez we would have absolutely no goal threat or creativity.

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  38. Sunderland are turning into the new Stoke, so much for the stylish Poyet. But they should (1st) could (2nd) have scored in the first half, we never really tested Lurch in their goal. We were always likely to be beaten on the break after the gung ho changes. We were relying on rookies like Armstrong and Cabella to come on. Nae chance. Parsnip 0 – Poyet 3 (about 7 if you count his whole career against us)

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  39. Uf you can’t win a game, Make sure you don’t lose it

    Who couldn’t see that happening with our 424 system and everyone flying forward at the end’

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  40. Poyet does seem to have the edge over us. Home or away. Chelsea, Brighton and now Sunderland. Sunderland fan’s must think his a god. The best we can hope for is he gets sacked someday.

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  42. Sunderland definitely had the better chances could of been a lot worse. Not sure why sissoko was so tight, should of gave him a few feet and got the challenge in. Weak performance, we didnt seem really up for it.
    our mini slump is gathering pace.. 👿

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  43. Apart from the Chelsea game, our run has completely ended in December. Man U will beat us as well. Everton is a hard game. Next win may be Leicester which is not in the league. I’m going to the West Brom – Heed game. :mrgreen:

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  44. Still don’t think we’d have lost it if Stevie Taylor didn’t keep waltzing up into their penalty box trying to be a hero at the end. Attacking substitutions were enough and we were causing trouble, but he wants the headlines. You haven’t played striker since youth level man, leave it to those who are the real deal like Perez.

    He hadn’t picked up a yellow so after Sissoko got brushed off he could have flung himself into a challenge as he likes to do and picked up a smart yellow, but no, we’re left with colback playing centre back.

    New centre back in January please, we’ve only needed one for five years at least. Ta Ash.

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  45. Well we have 6 wins and 5 draws from last 17 pl games so just need 6 wins from next 21 to be on 41 points, even percy should mastermind that.

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  46. Newks that’ll be the same Saylor who cleared off the line before headbutting the post then 😉 , we didn’t lose because of him we lost because we couldn’t finish and they had a giant in goal.

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  48. Kim – Aye he had a good goal line clearance, making up for the fact he lost fletcher and wickham a couple of times in the box first place and gave a lot of ground for a wickham shot too.

    They wouldn’t have scored if he’d stayed back, I have enough faith in his defensive abilities to say that at least. Sissoko should have brought the lad down but I’ll excuse him as he is a genuine goal threat and not a defender. We wouldn’t have won but **** me i’d have taken a 0-0 to start the game with. Off to drown the sorrows now. **** it

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  49. this is interesting reading.
    Mike Ashley has only given the club currently trading as Rangers a £2m LOAN in exchange for 2 seats on the board and security over 2 of the club’s main assets, the Albion Car Park and Edmiston House. Ashley’s influence at the club has grown but he already has the naming rights to Ibrox and also runs the club’s retail department, he doesn’t need to invest anything, if anything it will be more and more loans to keep them solvent. If it hadn’t been for the £2 million loan the club currently trading as Rangers would have went administration. The £2 million loan is expected to run out at the end of November or beginning of December.
    I keep saying it, there is nothing worth Mike Ashley investing serious money in the club currently trading as Rangers, he has everything that makes money sewn up in onerous contracts, and that’s without us going old ground about the actual financial difference in income from an SPFL team (who MIGHT, and that’s hell of a big MIGHT) get into the Champions League group stages within the next at least 5 years, if they’re lucky, and ANY EPL team who has the guarantee a share from the SlyTV deal down there. The club currently trading as Rangers need major investment in the coaching staff (they don’t have any scouting set-up), the team, Ibrox Stadium and their training ground. He wouldn’t get much change from £100 million, and that’s a conservative estimate, the stadium is a crumbling mess to the extent they airbrush official photographs of the outside to smarten it up.
    Is Mike Ashley going to invest that and keep paying the running costs all for the chance of getting £2 million for winning the SPFL and a slim chance of circa £10-15 million if they reach the CL group stages? Newcastle received £78.8 million from TV alone last season, he wouldn’t even make that much from the Ibrokes side winning the CL. People are saying that he would get free advertising in the CL, but that’s bollox, CL official sponsors are used in the games, the pitchside adverts etc
    Mike Ashley has had the money coming into the club currently trading as Rangers sewn up for months, all him giving them this £2 million loan has done has strengthened his grip on their income for very little output, and his output was only a loan.
    What state do you think any club is in if it needs to borrow £2 million in October just to tide them over, Mike Ashley isn’t interested in Rangers, he’s only interested in protecting his income from them, and he’s done that already. Mike Ashley does not own any more of the club than he did last month but he does have more power.
    I wonder when he will ask for the £2 million back? I’d say when he knows they don’t have it which will give him ownership of the Albion Car Park and we’ll see a nice new Sports Direct Superstore built on it.
    I’ve explained before about how things work up here with the press, Newcastle fans shouldn’t pay any attention to it. The press an the supporters have championed every spiv that has came through the door for years, the press described Craig Whyte as ‘a billionaire wealth of the radar’ he bought the club for a £1 and couldn’t even afford to paye PAYE and NI although he deducted it from the player’s wages, they’re grasping at straws up here but the truth is Mike Ashley doesn’t need to do any more, he’s got all the bases covered, retail, naming rights of Ibrox (for £1), 2 men on the board and control over 2 major assets, and he still doesn’t own more than 10% of the club. I expect he will ask for Ibrox as security for his next loan and Murray Park (the training ground) for the loan after that. He’s also supposedly working on a deal where him and Charles Green will own the club crest and brand and will rent it to the club to use, they will also look at renting back Ibrox to the club if they can secure ownership of it as described above.
    We’re still waiting on a court case between Craig Whyte and Charles Green over ownership of the club, it might not have been Charles Green’s to play with after all.}

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  50. Pardew to blame. Made the wrong calls. Ayoze ended further and further away from the attack when he was our only likely scorer

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  51. Kim I feel for the Ranger’s fan’s at the end of the day. Ashley is a big fat parasite that gets rich on the vulnerable. He doesn’t care who he hurts as long as his making money. His taking all our sponsorship money and profits for the last 5 years and gets free advertising for his business. He will probably take there stadium and rent it out or sale it to the highest bidder. I hope Ashley gets hit by a bus and has a reality check and see’s what a ucnt he is !

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  52. I’m going to watch just once for Bobby on sky sports one 7pm. Where they visit all his clubs here and around europe. Should be good

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  53. Ironic their goal came from yet another of our wasted corners; 3 goals from 300+ now isnt it

    Embarassing ineptitude from badged up top flight coaches…

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  54. taken from twitter,
    Alan Pardew has lost as many Tyne-Wear derbies as the last 22 Newcastle United managers combined 😳

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  55. pardew is out of his depth when it comes to derbies 😛

    tbh I never expected a win today, I was very hopeful of a draw but I watched expecting another Pardew derby going to the enemy. I simply don’t enjoy the derbies now with Pardew,

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  57. These days you just know the result before kick off. We went on a good little run when starting with two pacey wide players(ameobi, cabella etc..) Then he starts playing gouffran as a starter and the wins dry up. Think we have won ONE league game out of twelve this season when Gouffran has started. Must say I don’t get our gaffer at all.

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  58. For all Cabellas flitting in and out of matches, Id certainly rather him given a run in the side to try and settle in.

    The Gouffran thing is laughable

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  59. yup wrong players and wrong formation to start with
    wrong subs at the wrong time
    The wrong tactic of all out attack to win the game with tired players on the park, when it was obvious we weren’t going to score in a million years.
    A point would have been ok after 89 mins of 0-0. No one could have complained.
    After 4 years of Percy coaching the defence, we still are clueless at defending.
    Particularly crosses/freekicks into our box.
    Same old **** as always.
    And work in the morning 👿
    Happy Days (not)

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  60. Three points nearly a must next Sunday. With that in mind I would like to see Friday’s line up be along these lines

    Alnwick

    Anita Williamson Streete Hadiarra

    Cabella Tiote Vuckic

    Armstong Cisse Rivierre

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  61. @TLR

    anita and Willo at the back. Is janmaat, Colo, Dummett injured?
    no protection in the middle with Cabs & Vuckic, wheres sissoko and Colback

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  62. Mark

    Don’t think our players can play two big games in 44 hours. We either mix and match on both days or field a weak team and a strong team. I say we will get nothing at Old Trafford whatever team we send so target the home game at Everton with our best eleven.
    Do you think mix and match is the best way forward?
    One win is better than two draws

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  64. i get what youre saying but a couple of changes would be better.

    We still need some steel in the middle & Anita Williamson Streete Hadiarra will get a pummeling… it may effect our confidence, not to say the embarrassment with it being beamed live on BT Sport

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  66. I thought we played well and deserved something put of the game. That’s football though.

    6 local lads on the pitch at one stage. Canny like. I just wish they were all as good as Beardsley, Gazza? Shearer, Carroll amd waddle.

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  69. I thought today’s game was a **** poor advert for the “best league in the world”. Two really poor teams, we were all huff and puff, with the only players showing any class being Perez and Sissoko. Sunderland were much more composed on the ball, and at least could find there players with passes. We were pretty clueless at times…but deserved a draw…

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  70. Don’t know about anyone else but I was completely gutted about the way we played and the result. Don’t know where Larsew was coming from when he says their keeper had a good game – I don’t recall him having any saves to make from clear cut chances. I was really annoyed that it appears we had no real appetite to score and when we attancked we only ever had one man in the box! Can we really be expected to score attacking like that?

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  73. Troy – I agree with you. As heartbreaking as it was to loose right at the end, I thought we played very well for large periods of the game – the same couldn’t be said for the last few derby games that’s for sure.
    I think we were so desperate to win the game at the end that we didnt keep things tight at the back. Had we went for it and won then life would be sweet, had Sissokos shot found the top corner instead of being saved then different story. But it didn’t, and life is fucking ***** tonight!!.
    I looked at our front 3 today and just felt it wasn’t good enough. I’ve been banging on about wide men for a while now and I still don’t see the quality in Sammy and defo not Gouffran I’m afraid.
    Perez played well today, but are we really wanting to be a top 10 side pinning our goal scoring hopes on this young lad. I like Perez alot and he’s done great, but today was another clear example that we desperately need quality up front.

    Get some good deals done in Jan FFS. Send Chucky back to the Ukraine, and get a top centre forward in. Sell MYM to Roma if they want him and get a new CB in. If we can get a quality wide man in as well, then I see that as a must.

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  74. Just managed to see it. Poor by us. Only Perez and Sissoko looked dangerous going forward. Gouffy has petered out to nothing. No impact from either Cisse or Cabella coming on. Really poor once again against a less than mediocre side who had to use Coates. Shame on Parsnip.

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  75. This looks very much like a repeat of last season. We started to sag in December and carried on ’til May last season. And probably very little support from the owner again in January.

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