We start at home this season against a Southampton side who were amongst one of the surprise packages of last season. Ronald Koeman, in his first full Premier League campaign guided the Saints to an impressive 7th placed finish which has seen them participate in the qualifying rounds for the Europa League – a feat even more impressive when you look at the changes in personnel that took place last summer at St Mary’s Stadium.
While Saints fans will be looking to replicate a memorable and unexpected season, United fans will be less than willing to replicate the events of last season which saw us escape relegation by the skin of our teeth on the final day of the season following a rather timely 2-0 victory over West Ham United at St James’ Park.
It was the opinion that we required investment at the end of last term, and to a degree we’ve had that. In have come Georginio Wijnaldum, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba while, as yet anyway, none of our first-team players have been sold. We also have a new Head Coach/Manager/Director or whatever in the form of Steve McClaren who will be taking charge of a Premier League side for the first time since departing Middlesbrough for the England team in 2006.
Newcastle:
Fabricio Coloccini has recently signed a new deal with United and so, as Captain, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start although I’d be equally surprised if he lasted the full 90 minutes after sitting out all of pre-season. Who partners him is the question?
Chancel Mbemba could be in line to make a debut pending receipt of a work permit, or it could be Steven Taylor or Mike Williamson and there’s a case for each of them to be honest. While Mbemba looks to be the long term option it’s perhaps expecting too much for him to slot into the Premier League at the age of 20 (or 24, or 34) with roughly 30 minutes of pre-season under his belt. Steven Taylor is arguably more solid than Mike Williamson although choosing between the pair as a defensive partner is a bit like choosing a favourite ********.
While Williamson is not the greatest and has, ahem limitations, I do feel the barracking he has been on the end of is harsh. It’s not his fault he is not at the level required – it’s the clubs for allowing it to happen and at least he gives his all. Steven Taylor can be a solid defender on his day but there’s always a clanger in his locker and he’s prone to long term injuries.
Moving into midfield now and Cheik Tiote is back in training but is unlikely to feature unless it’s from the bench. Siem de Jong will probably play second fiddle to Georginio Wijnaldum with Vurnon Anota and Jack Colback playing deeper roles. Arguably the player of pre-season – Rolando Aarons may start in the left leaving Moussa Sissoko out on the right.
Up front the choice is simple – Papiss Cisse or Aleksandar Mitrovic although I’d like to see the pair of them play together.
Southampton:
Fraser Forster remains sidelined through injury with Gaston Ramirez, Ryan Bertrand and Florin Gardos also out through injury. Shane Long and Jordy Clasie are doubtful but have not been ruled out. Another of the Saints contingent missing out will be Manager Ronald Koeman who has undergone surgery on his Achilles and will not travel to Tyneside.
Sounthampton warmed up for the trip to Tyneside by beating Vitesse Arnhem 2-0 in Holland on Thursday sealing a 5-0 aggregate victory in their Europa League qualifier.
Previously…
Southampton did the double over us last season beating us 4-0 at St Mary’s and winning the return fixture at St James’ Park by a score of 2-1. In fact you need to go back to February 2013 to find our last victory against the Saints with our winless run extending to four games since that 4-2 victory.
However as fixtures go this is one that has very much been dominated by the home side over the years. As we’re at home I’ll look at our record, naturally. Of the 40 games played on Tyneside it is United who come out on winning on 29 occasions, Southampton have won on five occasions with six draws making up the numbers.
Overall it’s United who shade the head-to-head having won 34 of the 80 matches contested between the sides. Southampton have won 29 times with 17 draws.
Stats and facts:
Premier League openers are not generally great days for Southampton as they’ve win just twice in 16 opening day attempts. It’s not much better for United who have won seven in 21 attempts.
Newcastle have failed to score on four of the last five opening matches of a Premier League season.
United do however have a chance to record back-to-back wins since November 2014.
The Saints have not won away in the Premier League in the last seven attempts. Six of those matches ended in defeat.
Their last away victory came at QPR back in February.
Final thought…
We’ve invested a fair amount in three players but it’s important not to expect too much from them immediately. Remember they are all new to the Premier League and may not adjust immediately so if they don’t score a hat-trick on their debut it doesn’t mean they should be written off. Likewise should they have a good game it doesn’t mean that they should be awarded an elevated status with higher expectations.
A lot of people have judged us on pre-season results and performances. Personally I’ve not really batted an eyelid – remember last season we had a decent pre-season and look how that shaped the campaign! The time for looking at things properly is now and that starts against Southampton.
Mike Ashley’s words mean little to me but to be fair we’ve got a recognised Manager in and have spent some considerable cash (by Ashley’s standards) on some highly-rated players so I’m prepared to see how it turns out. Do we need more? The answer from me will always be yes, but lets gauge where the current influx of new blood has take us first.
Howay the lads!
Date: Sunday, 9th August, 2015
Time: 13:30
Venue: St James’ Park
Stu, it was bloody beautiful, he totally upended their defender with his first touch/ challenge. It was a proper tough challenge and right by the sideline as well. Not a red. Not in my book anyway!! But McClaren needs to tell him it was.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
It is in there, Kim, I just try and keep it well buried. 😆
Lionel Speed(Quote)
If I didn’t know we drew I would think we won about 15-0 reading your posts, Lionel.
Stuart79(Quote)
Kim
Think you are being hard on Tiote. He and De Jong both looked woeful but nobody was running past Mitrovic by this stage and as a team we were a spent force as an attacking side. Both Tiote and De Jong have not played many games so I won’t be as hard as you.
I was at the game but from my seat couldn’t tell how far Long was out when he scored. Could Krul have came for the cross? Janmaat never left the ground but Long was clever and got up first. Not the first time Janmaat has been done at the back post.
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Did Hitman explain who was driving the red bus? 😛 certainly not me. 😉
I saw positives amd negatives today. I believe we looked more solid. Just.
I saw the same frailties at the back despite mbemba having a decent game.
I saw not stand out performers. I saw nothing to get excited about. I see us surviving but I stick to my pre season prediction. Lower to mid table.
Aussie, I know you know but I will emphasise it again. I’ve gone back cos they’ve spent £35m and there’s 3 weeks to go. I will not be going back unless they strengthen a lot further as all i see at the moment is mediocrity.
You hang on every word I print so I expect you to react which I will regard as a bite. . If you don’t react it’s obvious that you are biting. 😉 which will it be? 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Stuart slightly reckless challenge. Off the ground which made it worse but the full back milked it for all it was worth
Toby le Rhone(Quote)
Everything about today’s performance was mediocre. Nothing positive. Nothing disastrous. Better than last season though. Just. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy – There’ll be bloggers having absolute fits of rage at that comment. Your opinion will only be seen as being totally negative and turning people off this blog!
I was wondering if it would be negative to tell someone that shooting themselves in the head would kill them?
Stuart79(Quote)
Today it was just there to see, Stu, we are going to be a really much better team. My posts aren’t saying it was the real deal today, they are saying I saw an awful lot to be very optimistic about, but to be honest nothing I didn’t expect. I think McClaren is a very good coach and thus will improve things even without extra players, and I think we have bought well, but, as you have rightly said, one way or another we need to sort out our defense.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Looks like Aussie has bit. He’s keeping shtumm. 😆
Troy Stavers(Quote)
It wasn’t a red
MDS(Quote)
Stuart
I think you know that I’m aware of that. I’ve got 6 yrs experience. What I enjoy is the big come downs when reality strikes. They’re a funny bunch like. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
MDS
What was it?
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Come on, Stu, don’t go there mate. Fair enough from Troy, he was there as well. But, can’t see him being correct with table prediction. We are only going to get better, he sticks with his prediction, I stick with mine- banging on the door of top 8 come May, whether we get in, we’ll see.
I couldn’t give a monkey’s about people seeing things differently, a bit positivity, bit of negativity. It just gets wearing when everything is brought back down to something negative, but fortunately this is a new dawn and Troy will be pleasantly surprised.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Would like to know if the three penalty claims we had for handball were justified. As for Troy’s comments and Stu’s I can only say that personally I enjoyed what I saw today compared with what I have watched in recent seasons and my feelings reflected the comments of a lot of people as they left the match. Stu your metaphors take some beating.
groucho(Quote)
What I enjoy, Troy, is our club being managed by a decent bloke and coach, and us fans not having to bear anymore of the utter ***** we had under Pardew et al. I predict those epic come downs are a thing of the past, even if it is not going to be anything like plain sailing through the season.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Thanks, Groucho.
Stuart79(Quote)
Groucho
Do you accept I said it was better than last season ? If you do then where do we differ?
Maybe you think we are going to be better than mediocre this season? Then we differ. Please explain?
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I am not too sure how a conclusion like yours, Lionel is reached after 1 game which we drew. I think it’s better to wait until at least 10 games before any judgments are made.
Stuart79(Quote)
Lionel
So you’ve decided McLaren. Is better than Pards ? I bet Pards would have loved a transfer window where the club spent £35m net. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I don’t expect groucho to answer a challenging question 😯
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Stu and Troy, you two are just looking for trouble where there isn’t any.
Much better day at the office, most thinking it was better than mediocre. End of. See where we go from here. 🙄
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Lionel
I think you’ll find that my opinions are common amongst toon fans who went to the game. Did you go and mix with the fans?
Looking for trouble? Is that cos we disagree with you? Do you not believe your opinions are as equally frustrating to us?
Troy Stavers(Quote)
That is up to you, Stu. I saw a lot still that needs fixing but a lot already suggesting movement in the right direction. No doubt we’ll know more after 10 games. That is how I see it. Troy sees it the way he does, it’s alright. As I say, we all have our opinions, the only thing I ever complained about was incessant negativity, over the top arrogance, aggressive commentary and those looking to make points all the time. Personally, I have moved on from all that.
Yes Troy, I think McClaren is a better manger than Pardew, he is also a better bloke who gives our club back a bit of respect. Of course Pardew would have liked 35 million, but i still think McClaren is a better manager and will have us playing better than Pardew’s utter *****.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
I take it Lionel, from your reaction that you believe we are better than mediocre. Where do you think we’ll finish? I consider anything outside the top 8 as mediocre. Bottom 5 as a disaster.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Groucho the first was a penalty IMO. The other two weren’t
MDS(Quote)
I am not looking for trouble, Lionel. I am just giving you my opinion and telling you I think your opinion is unwarranted at this stage.
I certainly won’t be agreeing with what you say just because it will mean the blog runs smoothly…
Stuart79(Quote)
Troy, it is nothing to do with disagreeing with me. I couldn’t give a monkey’s what you think, good luck to you. Both you and Stu are exceptionally confrontational, that is what I mean by looking for trouble.
Why would I not think my opinions might be frustrating to you, you both seem to get frustrated reasonably easily, so it would make sense that my opinions, which are different to yours, may frustrate you.
And sorry, I only watched the game on TV but I and many who saw it on TV thought their were positive signs.
It is alright, mate.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Lionel
If McLaren gets the same resources as Pards did then I predict you’ll be calling for his head in 18 mths
Of the 90 odd league clubs, over 50 managers have been in post over 12 mths.
Fans want instant success. Toon fans won’t tolerate mediocrity. Believe me, anything other than top 8 and the fans will want him out after two seasons.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Wow! McLaren has just blamed the fans for urging the players on for a win which backfired. Heard that before amd he got slated. First game, first interview. Oh dear. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Stu, the last thing I would expect or want is agreement for the sake of it, that is bollocks. The whole negative/ positive thing was discussed, i made my points and have moved on. You keep making sly digs and comments about it and get confrontational when someone calls you out about something.
But, yes, sometimes we should do things or not do things to make the blog run smoothly. I had said enough the other day, others too had heard enough, so I stopped for the smooth running of the blog.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Troy You judge the standard of football by where we finish and to give you your due there is clearly a relationship. For myself unless we are in the bottom 5 I am happy if I can watch enjoyable football. Obviously if we were fighting relegation like last season I would not enjoy it but if that was the case I suspect the standard of football wouldn’t be any good. Under Pardew, even when we won I often didn’t enjoy it. Depends what you want to see I suppose.
Groucho(Quote)
Troy, come on!! The fans won’t tolerate mediocrity, we have just had the most stupifying mediocrity known to man!!! As you well know, the fans are good fans and when they see progress, which I am sure we will see, then McClaren will be around a while. It will go back, as you refer to, to how much the club spends as well. But, I think if they did suddenly reign in the money again, McClaren himself would be off.
Anyway, I reckon he is going to do a good job and will be here a fair while.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Shaqiri going to stoke is a waste.
kimtoon(Quote)
Lionel.
The fans won’t tolerate mediocrity. You’ve had it for 8 yrs bar one. Have you seen something different from today? I’m in agreement. I just want to know if you’ve seen something more than mediocrity. We saw less than that last season. I’ve seen an improvement, just, today. But still nothing to get excited about.
I don’t know why you are disagreeing. Did you see anything better than mediocrity. If yes, where do you see us finishing?
Anything less than top 8 is surely mediocrity
Just explain your stance.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Troy. In the nearly 60 yrs of watching the toon we havebeen top 8 about times off the top of my head. Not all the rest has been mediocre. But hey, you define it anyway you like.
premandup(Quote)
7 soz
premandup(Quote)
Sorry, Troy, I have explained my stance all afternoon. I appreciate you were at the game and hadn’t seen it.
My stance is that I predicted from early summer that we will be challenging in and around the top 8 come the end of the season.
My reasoning was that I belived Ashley, that he was going to spend. And now I like the additions he has made. Even if I, personally, would still like to see Austin in and Cisse maintained, plus an additional CB. The other aspect of my rationality is that I think that MCClaren is a good coach, a better one than Pardew, and that he has got a much better coaching team around him.
And today, even with unfit players and defenders who have virtually never played together I saw enough to think we will improve markedly on last season, over the course of the season. I also saw us attacking in numbers which, although McClaren may want to reign it in a bit, was bloody refreshing to see.
I could go on but I am knackered and I am boring myself now.
Take it easy, Troy.
Ps. I don’t think about things in terms of mediocre. I don’t think I have used the word in my life. So, I can’t really get into that kind of discussion. But, I do think we are going to start playing as a team, as a defensive unit and as an attacking unit, and I do think we will end up with 3-4 strikers, and I do think we are going to pass the ball around much better, and I do think this club is about to rise from the utter, utter ***** place it has been in over the last few years. We are about to have a club again to be proud of, in my opinion. I just say all this because I am usually a very good judge of people, and I think Ashley means what he says now and I think McClaren has found his club.
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Prem
For once in our history we have the money available via tv to be competing for top 8.
In the past we’ve had mercanary owners but not had that revenue. I’m suggesting we still have one but what makes it worse is the money is there, free, a gift, a present.
It’s a complete scam going on in front of your eyes and you ae justifying it. Or trying to.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Lionel
Well done for explaining your stance. With respect, I totally disagree at this moment in time. Unless you know soething that I don’t and the club will buy a few more player without selling key ones, no matter how good McLaren is, the squad is mediocre.
I will remind you later on in the season. Don’t back track. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Thanks very much, Troy!! And, you won’t get any back tracking from me!! Remind away.
What will be will be.
ps. Don’t forget to keep going to the games, only 18 more to go!!! 😎
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Although you have explained your stance, it does appear to be based on hope rather than rational thought. You are hoping McClaren turns out to be a better coach than Pardew (his CV is mixed), you are hoping other clubs don’t invest the additional TV money as good as us, you are hoping the club has changed it’s MO and finally you are hoping we buy a couple of more players.
Lots of hope there and of course there’s nothing wrong with that. We all need hope in football. I am just not sure it’s the best way to predict the outcome of a football season.
Stuart79(Quote)
I watched the game on internet and was happy with the draw because we could quite easily have lost that game today.
Agree with Sharpy 17, I thought our substitutions today didn’t bring much to the game, I thought De Jong was shockingly ineffective, and Tiote was like a man off when he came on. His decision making and mental alertness was way off..
Also thought that mClAREN TOOK A MASSIVE RISK PLAYING collicini, who was caught out numerous times in and around the box.
Haidara is frustrating, providing energy going down the left side but stood of his man twice and allowed the winger to get the cross in which brought them 2 goals. He really does need to learn how to defend the cross coming in, perhaps he will ultimately end up playing higher up the field with Dummet at left back ?
Wijndalum scored a great goal, and keeps the ball well, he really flourished with footballers around him in Anita and Colback.. Tired in the end…
Cisse, frustrating as always with a miserable first touch, but hey, he was there to chest the first goal in…
All in all I really enjoyed the new toon style, though I’m not convinced we can iron out the defensive errors, because at the end of the day the players involved are all prone to error due to lack of talent or age/rustiness.
Mbemba looked good on the ball, well done, but was also left wanting for each of the goals..
Munich Mag(Quote)
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2015/08/09/report-newcastle-united-target-florian-thauvin-gets-into-alterca/
kimtoon(Quote)
I’m just still trying to get my head around the sight of Collo passing the ball to his right, to someone who could actually play football and move forward. I need a lie down.
DJG(Quote)
Just watching the game now. First half so far looks quite bitty. No real flow but we should have had a penalty. Janmaat and Mbemba no communication for their goal. That should get better.
Stuart79(Quote)
How on earth did the linesman miss that handball?!
Stuart79(Quote)
Great counter attacking goal!
I’m not sure I have seen our defence win a ball in the air yet though…
Stuart79(Quote)
Arsenal had about 10 chances to score before West Ham. Just a freak opening day result if you ask me. Normal service will be resumed soon.
DJG(Quote)
So I think we committed more men forward than we have done for the last few years and that will make us more of a threat, but it does obviously leave us a bit bare at the back.
Was worried about the amount of clear cut chances Southampton created but glad they didn’t take more than they did.
They are obviously ahead of us fitness wise as they’ve been playing in Europa cup and that showed. But I’m not sure we created too many clear chances or whether it was the highlights not showing them but the intent was there and that’s a start.
Would rather have Aarons than Obertan and I would like to find a way of fitting De Jong in but where?
Stuart79(Quote)
My concern with Aaron’s is he seems a bit like Ferguson in that he does not have the engine to do a full game – and he seems prone to injury and short term muscle tweaks too. Slowly building his match strength up is probably the best option.
Shamrock(Quote)
It’s interesting that Leicester are put at the top of the league. Back in my youth they’d have been 6th, with West Ham on top.
It’s all about goal average and goal difference, and the preference for goals scored. It makes it easy for the younger generation, see; they don’t have to worry about dividing numbers, and potentially doing long division later in the season, and it sidesteps having to cope with those hard decimal point thingies.
Thankfully I’ll be long gone by the time they abbrev de talk 2 mek it easy 2 rite. Prolly best m8.
Brisvegas(Quote)
wow, like a cheap two dollar hooker, Troy drops his drawers and goes running back to the home games after Ashley splashes a bit of cash. However, so he doesn’t look like a total crack *****, he is asking for more money before he will go back again! 😆 😆 😳 😳
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
I read Troy’s report on the game with interest just to see how much he’d retained from that day in the pub. Sadly he hasn’t take my advice to cut holes in his mask so he could actually see things properly and that the cape is best worn when it flaps behind him, not when it’s wrapped around his head 😉
Maybe he was relying on reports from Stu’s ouija board. 😆
Brisvegas(Quote)
It was good to see an open and entertaining game. If you look at the goal attempts there were like 27 combined. Need height at centre back (not Willo).
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Glad to see only Timmy-the-half-hoof today. He curbed his hoofing a bit but he is only in the halfway house and he will need a few more therapy sessions to be fully rehabbed.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I really don’t think de Jong is fit yet either. The problem is how do you get him fit without playing him? I think we slowed down a lot after him and Tiote came on and I think that is a fitness problem.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
If there was a real negative from the game it was that neither of our 2 best players in preseason came on as subs and players that obviously lack fitness did. Perez and Aarons are young but they would have been better options in my opinion.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
for their second goal, a new “tall” CB would of had to have been 8′ tall to reach that cross, it was headed in at the back post ffs.. please can we stop with the tall cb talk…. more importantly, we need our defenders to man up and actually put some real body to body pressure on high crosses.. 😕
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Fair enough, Stu. One man’s hope is another man’s reason. I like to see it as making judgement calls on the evidence laid before, it is of course possible to see different evidence and to see that evidence differently. I, for one, am reasonably optimistic. We shall see.
Now, I should get off and actually be a bit productive with my life. 😆
Lionel Speed(Quote)
Just because a tall centre back couldn’t prevent ONE goal TODAY doesn’t mean we don’t need a bit of height to defend and attack corners and free kicks. This has been one of our achilles heels forever. Krul doesn’t command his area and we scored 1 goal from a corner in 2 years. It an obvious area of need, although with Colo reappointed as Captain and paired with a sub-6 foot defender I am not sure that it will be met.
Every time the opposition get a corner I get a feeling of dread. I just hope Steve knows what he is doing (and yes I do know that Maldini, Mascherano and Bobby Moore weren’t exactly giants).
Even if we get to the PL average for defending and attacking set pieces that would be a massive improvement and I think a bit of height wouldn’t hurt given Tim’s deficiencies and our inabilities of the recent past. One good thing today was that we did vary the set piece plays a bit, although in an ideal world we would have someone who is good at taking them who also deserves his place in the team based on his general play.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
we leak goals because our defenders are static and are not reading the flight of the ball. We seem to play a zone style of defence when it comes to corners and I would prefer a man on man… or it could be that we are playing man on man but are rooted to the spot (ball watching) and not tracking runs into and around the box..in truth it is hard to tell, we are bad at it but a tall defender is not the answer….better defenders would be a start…
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
AMF: Yes, tall for tall sake is not the answer. However, if Timmy is rooted to his line having someone who is good in the air would help. We still have a couple of weeks.
Steve said he would assess the players and we didn’t see Willo or Laschelles today. I don’t know if that really means anything because it is only one game but it is interesting nonetheless – one not good enough, the other not ready?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So part of an easier fix would be to train Krul into being more commanding in the box at set pieces.. Another part would be to pressure the passer of the ball more so they don’t have time to pick accurate passes. Another would be mark your opponent tighter and not just some random space in and round the box. Another would be challenge hard for the ball, get some body on your opponent so they don’t get an easy jump at it……..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
AMF: it is the set pieces where I think Krul’s inability to commit to a catch or punch hurts us. Hopefully the new ‘keeper coach will give him a bit more confidence. It is obvious there is something wrong whether it be Krul or centre backs, but also it has only been one game so you would hope that it will get better as we get better coaching.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Decent game, a draw was fair. New players are getting used to our new style with the rest of the players. We defiantly looked more attacking with some nice passing.
Mbemba needs games and the defence need to work on communicating.
GASHLEY(Quote)
I hope Krul gets better/more confident at set pieces as well. A new tall CB will help but it will not fix fundamental positioning mistakes and ball watching. We need to fix the basics and that impacts the whole back 4. I have never been a fan of defenders drifting into spaces where they think the ball may go, when their direct opponents are drifting into an entirely different space. Saylor would have to be the worst exponent of this technique..
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Aussie @589 – both points you make are regular reasons why we are conceding goals from wide areas. Haidara on both goals was nowhere near the lad crossing the ball in. Both times he was in the box trying to get out to him, which give him bags of time to pick the pass – not good enough. Your 2nd point about Krul not commanding his area was most obvious in the 2nd goal. He’s watching that ball coming over and should have been out to it, but he rarely does. If he comes and punches that then job done. I think the defenders are more concerned about either taking a hit from the opponent, or clashing with them & giving away a penalty, that they aren’t attacking the ball as they should.
I think a more commanding goalkeeper is definitely what we need.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Eric – sorry mate, just read 590 properly & you’re making the same point regarding Krul. He’s obviously not the only problem, but I think you & Aus are right, it’s definitely a big part of it.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, you could almost see a small amount of shock/relief ripple through out the crowd when Krul came out a caught a corner late in the game.. He really doesn’t like moving off that bloody goal line too often. We would certainly leak less goals if he was more aggressive at balls floated in and around his space at corners.
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
Defender wise, I think height would help but I think we need a real presence in there too. A gritty CB who would ruffle CFs up a bit and had a real battle with them. Terry does it well for Chelsea & Huth or Shawcross would be another good example. Our defenders are too nice.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Aussie – I was half nights last night & one of the lads I work with was at the game yesterday. Krul came out and punched clear a corner or cross and he said the section of the crowd he sits in let out one of the loudest cheers of the day 😆
It must be something they have discussed in training and whether it’s that the defenders prefer him out the way, or that he just doesn’t have to confidence to command those situation, I don’t know. But the latter seems most likely from what I see.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I don’t think Krul is going anywhere, so we have to work on his 2 main issues of being hesitant on crosses and **** at distributing the ball. It is funny but Krul has been our ‘keeper for what, 7 years, and nobody ever gave him any stick. Now it seems people have realised that he has some major deficiencies and are finally speaking up.
Or else, he did get worse. Or is that my imagination?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sharpy, that was the moment… it wasn’t a catch it was the punch!!! We don’t see enough of that!
Aussie Magpie Fan(Quote)
If I was an opposition manager setting up to play NUFC I would play to get as many corners and diagonal free kicks as possible. Tell the wingers to not always take the direct route into the box and fart around a bit looking for a foul or rebound out of play.
Eric Sykes(Quote)