A third home game within the space of a week will see our attention turn towards the league campaign again after yet another disappointing and premature exit from a cup competition.
The problems is that this isn’t exactly the game you want when your team s low on confidence and seemingly devoid of ideas. Having said that, neither were Sheffield Wednesday in the end but with the greatest respect to the Owls – who fully deserved to beat us by the way – our next opponents are on a different level
The eternal optimist (yes, he is still there just) in me looks at arguably our best performances to date this season and notes that they’ve been against the top sides in the league so perhaps there could be a scope for an upset. The realist in me can unfortunately see nothing other than a defeat against Chelsea leaving us heading into our game against Manchester City (I know, the fun just goes on doesn’t it…) in a rather perilous state.
Newcastle:
Aleksandar Mitrovic has completed his three game suspension so will be available for selection. Daryl Janmaat, arguably our best player recently, has recovered from the illness which seen him withdrawn against Sheffield Wednesday but Papiss Cisse is out along with Steven Taylor, Paul Dummett, Cheik Tiote and Emanuel Riviere while Massadio Haidara, Jack Colback and Rolando Aarons are doubtful after failing to feature in midweek.
Chelsea:
Diego Costa is the only absentee for Jose Mourinho after being found guilty of an FA charge relating to his behaviour in the Arsenal game last weekend which means he will be banned for three games. Willian, Oscar and Pedro are all available after recent injuries.
Previously…
As you can imagine, this is a favour that generally hasn’t gone our way and indeed the head-to-head record is tipped fairly heavily in Chelsea’s direction although there is also a tendency for this to be a fixture that leans towards the home side (see stats below) in recent times.
Some 74 games have been played at St James’ Park with Newcastle winning 38 of those compared to only 18 wins for Chelsea. However the fact that we’ve been woeful at Stamford Bridge, like forever, means that in the 150 games to date in all competitions it is Chelsea who have won the most notching up 62 victories with United totting up 50 wins.
Stats and facts…
Newcastle have won the last three home fixtures against Chelsea. In fact the result has gone with the home side on each of the last six league matches.
If Newcastle fail to win it will match the seven game winless streak suffered at the start of last season.
Steve McClaren is currently in his worst run as a Premier League manager having failed to win in his last ten league outings (four with Middlesbrough and six with us).
Should Chelsea lose it would equal the clubs lowest ever Premier League points total after seven games. It would also be a fourth loss in seven league games which would equal the run of the 1978-79 where they were eventually relegated.
Jose Mourinho is yet to win at St James’ Park in five attempts.
Final thought…
These types of games are often thought of as scratch games – give it a go, expect nothing and maybe you might end up pleasantly surprised.
I can’t see that tomorrow however and think things are going to get worse before they get better. If they get better…
Howay the lads!
Date: Saturday, 26th September, 2015
Time: 17:30
Venue: St James’ Park
Afternoon Sharpy, Georgio. Beautiful day here in Cheshire. Sun shining, blue skies. All is right with the world. Well at least til tomorrow.
Premandup(Quote)
Obertan now injured and Aarons not travelling. If you assume Colback will not make it the team virtually picks itself. My guess is:
Krul MBemba Coloccini MBabu
Sissoko Anita Wijnaldum Thauvin
Ayoze Mitrovic
Maybe an alternative would be bring in deJong as a number 10 and move Ayoze to the wing.
I know we all ***** about the international break but we need it to get some of our crocks back.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Prem – yes mate, likewise in sunny Chester le Street. I can live with these Indian summers like – better weather in October than it was in August 😆
BBQ on and beers chilling in the fridge – I’m living like our Aussie brethren 😎
Sharpy17(Quote)
What’s this craic I keep reading about Barca keeping an eye on Thauvin?! 😯 I really hope the kid comes good for us, but I haven’t seen that level in him yet at all.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I’m glad our injury record is improving… 🙁
Stuart79(Quote)
Eric. I’d rather start with 11
premandup(Quote)
Evening Lads, hectic week, loads of appointments and birthdays. Looking forward to a calmer weekend and hope we can grab a point or 3 this weekend. Heart says we can, head says we got no chance.
kimtoon(Quote)
Yeh Prem 🙂 missed Janmaat but you know is first on the teamsheet anyway.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Just saw in the Chronicle that 100,000 jocks are set to converge on Newcastle. Does that mean there will be 50-60-70k of them without tickets wandering the streets and filling the bars. Sounds like a fkin nightmare to me.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I stick by my statement, if we don’t win any games by game 10, then serious consideration needs to be given regarding sacking SM. This will depend on our performances and the gap between ourselves and 4th place.
Performances against Chelsea will go in SM’S favour but that is one of only 2 performances which were worthy of praise.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I don’t waste my time trying to praise poor managers. Some on this blog aren’t able to see the difference between poor, average and good premier league managers.
YKWYA. (You Know Who You Are)
Troy Stavers(Quote)
sharpster, i would have matip for sure, harnik is good player but too old for us. stuttgart are minging anyway and will do well to avoid relegation this season. holtby had his chance and will struggle to impose himself in the epl. the are couple of excellent young players at schalke 04, max meier and a young lad straight out of the academy, called Sane, what abrilliant left foot hes got, and really young too. keep an eye out for him mate…
Munich Mag(Quote)
For those who said they didn’t notice the change up front against Chelsea
“A change of formation from Steve McClaren boosted Newcastle’s attack at home to Chelsea last weekend. After seeing his side score just once in the previous five league matches, the Magpies boss moved from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2, handing Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez the roles up front, whilst Georginio Wijnaldum was moved from a deep-lying central berth onto the left flank. Both Perez and Wijnaldum found the net in a 2-2 draw and, with a very favourable schedule on their agenda from Gameweek 9 onwards, could be set to profit if McClaren keeps faith in his new system.”
Newkie(Quote)
True, Troy!
Stuart79(Quote)
I see **** is going to be out after the West Ham game.
Stuart79(Quote)
I just hope that the Manchester City fowards go easy on Colocini tomorrow. Is that to much to ask for ?
Stem(Quote)
Munich – yeah mate I really hope we go back in for Matip, I think him & Mbemba could work really well together. I’d love us to go get Timo Werner too though, I think that lad has bags of talent.
I’m sure Liverpool have been linked with that Sane lad you’re on about. Is it Leroy Sane?
Sharpy17(Quote)
I can’t help thinking we are really going to get a howking today!! It’s been brewing!
Hope I’m wrong.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Sharpster…Leroy Sane, aye that’s his name.
Munich Mag(Quote)
If Tiote returns that will be a huge bonus for us
Toby Le Rhone(Quote)
At last SM has had chat to Siko and told him to stop talking about CL football and produce his football on the pitch,but I cannot see him trying to much against City in case he gets hurt with the French game coming up,he only thinks about himself not the club
icedog(Quote)
I hope SM sticks with more or less the same team against City but he’s talking about playing cissie and Mis up front, imo Perez has much better movement off the ball,also can a play either wing.during the game,where cissie is fairly static in the goal area
icedog(Quote)
He’s now talking up Gouffran to replace Jack. Don’t know why he doesn’t drop Sissoko back (rocket up his **** first!) and play Thauvin or Aarons. Newkie – it was never 442.
georgio(Quote)
Ime wondering if this bloody Aarons is made of glass he gets right up to playing and then breaks down again,just like Taylor a right sick note
icedog(Quote)
Ice – seems to me Aarons looks like he’s never going to make a footballer. Shame as we’ve all seen his talent. Mind you Vuckic was like that for about 4 years too.
georgio(Quote)
tricky one…Aarons is injury prone and made of glass, his contract is up this season… Just watch his injuries clear up when he signs for Liverpool 🙂 😆
Munich Mag(Quote)
Bit cynical there MM . . . or is it realistic.
georgio(Quote)
Looks like Sunderland will have a new manager in time to face us. That new manager bounce isn’t guaranteed though, we didn’t get it.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Georgio, I just deal in facts mate :-)….. tainted with big portions of cyncicsm 🙂
Munich Mag(Quote)
I feel sorry for Aarons personally. He doesn’t seem the champagne Charlie like Sterling or Whilshire – photographed puffing on cigs or inhaling laughing gas. In fact the photos I saw suggested he started his pre season fitness early to try & get up to speed. He comes across as a decent lad just desperate to get the chance to show what he can do.
Hopefully at some point this season he will get that break & we get to watch the rise of a real star player.
The thought of him & Armstrong in our attack would be great to see.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Aarons never had these injury problems with either Bristol Academy or Bristol city lads. Either our training /fitness regime is all wrong, our Medical guys are inept or as MM@476 says it’s all to do with his contract situation. You don’t become made of glass overnight. It is fair to say our players do pick up an inordinate amount of injuries though.
kimtoon(Quote)
Watching the Palace v WBA game – we need a magpie flying the length of the pitch & cheerleaders as part of our pre match entertainment too 😆
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kimtoon, Obertan has also picked up a mystery hamstring injury, and Tiote went MIA for yonks after his knee injury….
Things aren’t always what they seem 🙂
Munich Mag(Quote)
Sharpster, you’ll be waiting in vain for the joint Aarons / Armstrong strike force mate 🙁
Munich Mag(Quote)
Sharpy, he’s a nice lad, very highly thought of at the Academy in particular. I know a lad who knows him and he said he just wants to play football, he’s not a money grabber, but I’m sure he feels he’s entitled to parity with other young players with his talent in regards to playing time and salary .
kimtoon(Quote)
Sean Dyche being linked with the makkems… nicht gut … 🙄
Munich Mag(Quote)
MM@483, you’re not wrong there mate.
kimtoon(Quote)
Why do the Scum have to change manager shortly before playing us all the time, anyone would think it’s the only way to beat us 🙄 . They have hit on a formula for winning the Derby and gaining the vital 6 points they need to survive.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – maybe it’s just the physical strains of stepping up to the level of PL. he’s still a young lad as well and his body will still be growing. I think it’s probably more a case that as a club, our loan set up has let him down again. He hasn’t played a lot of competitive first team football – that a loan move would have got him.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy., That’s quite possible, why not let him go back to Bristol City on loan, god knows they need some help at the mo. 🙁
kimtoon(Quote)
KIM thing about going back on loan to B/C is he could get mixed up with the wrong crowd again.
Storey Pearson ready to step in at scumland
icedog(Quote)
Munich – I hope not mate (but i think you’re probably right). I’m a bit of a sentimental fan and would love to see more academy players getting through. I know it wasn’t our most successful time, but I loved our side with Elloitt, Watson, Howey and Clarkie in it. Would be great to see our side with Dummett, Aarons, Armstrong and Colback in it (I know Colback isn’t academy but his a Geordie).
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpster I’m a geordie too mate, and would love to see the toon team filled with Geordies rather than mercenary foreigners…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Everyone must have seen the “Geordie Hacka” doing the rounds ?
Geordie “knacka” more like 😳 😳 😳
Munich Mag(Quote)
Kim – yeah I get the impression he’s a grounded kid just desperate to prove how good he is. Even when you watch him play, he doesn’t strut round the pitch full of arrogance, he puts a shift in.
I think if he could get a run of games, or even a decent period of time without injury, then I think he would get that parity and the contract he is looking for. I think the club are maybe being a little cautious.
Sharpy17(Quote)
http://www.skysports.com/watch/video/sports/football/10015524/mitrovic-working-on-aggression
Munich Mag(Quote)
Sharpy, I agree, thing that bothers me is, I get the impression Carr in particular has a downer on British players and will too quickly look to foreign players as a better bet. Reckon Steve wanted Austin but Carr vetoed it tbh.
kimtoon(Quote)
This Palace game is fucking *****!!
Sharpy17(Quote)
Kim – I still think the Austin thing is down to his injuries. I heard that insurance companies wouldn’t touch him at £15m – mind I don’t expect him to stay at QPR either.
Thing is, during the transfer window McClaren kept banging on about getting the ‘right players’ in. He obviously means players with a good work ethics and a desire to succeed – and the signings he’s made tick those boxes. But I would say that Aarons would also tick those boxes too, would be such a shame if we allow him to drift out.
Sharpy17(Quote)
The end of the Tuxedo saga is near as NUFC players will be issued with new suits by one of Ashley’s luxury brands. I wonder if NUFC will get them wholesale? Probably not, Fatman will have NUFC pay full whack as he likes to shift revenue from NUFC to his main companies 🙂 Anyway, this should be the end to about the biggest non-story I have seen in a while:
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/newcastle-united-expected-issued-new-10186581?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sharpy: McClaren must know what Austin is about as he coached him at QPR. You would have thought his say would be important to Carr and Charnley so maybe your insurance obstacle is true.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Mitro talking on Sky sports now
kimtoon(Quote)
I fkin hate Pardew. He is giving Zaha the free role he should have given Ben Arfa.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric – they have taken a similar risk with Ba, who was shunned by Stoke due to his time bomb knee – we went with him. But of course he was a free transfer, so the ‘risk’ wasn’t as great as the £15m for Austin. Maybe if QPR are ready to take £7-8m in Jan, we might see that as a fair gamble – certainly as a free in the summer, I would think their will be a number of clubs prepared to take that risk.
I could well imagine both Carr and certainly Charnley being very unattached and calculated when it comes to the transfer targets.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Eric – it’s funny you say that. I was just thinking that Zaha reminded me of Benny the season we finished 5th.
Sharpy17(Quote)
This is a good watch, and a good PR move by the club – try to shake this thought that Mitrovic is an angry, aggressive young man
http://mobile.newsnow.co.uk/A/795511946?-11058:809
I really like the lad. We’ve had players like that before in Bowyer & Bellaz who were a bit gritty and walked that disciplinary line most games. I can wait to see the reaction from him when he gets his first goal though 😆
Sharpy17(Quote)