Both teams had active winter transfer windows, however for Everton they only signed one first team player in Senegalese striker Oumar Niasse from Lokomotiv Moscow. He comes with pace and power but unfortunately for his club, he will not be featuring against Newcastle. Their other 2 signings are prospects for the future, while the most notable exit from the Evertonian camp was Aiden McGeady, who has left on loan to Sheffield Wednesday.
For the Toon, we have the pleasure of having welcomed Jon-Jo Shelvey, Henri Saivet, Andros Townsend and the Ivorian striker Seydou ‘Rhino’ Doumbia – the latter having a pretty prolific record in the same Country Everton’s Niasse has just came from – Russia. Despite a late push for Saido Berahino it was not to be and the Toon also failed to land a left back having seen negotiations fail (thankfully) for Jose Enrique and (not so thankfully) Kieran Gibbs amongst others.
Previous Meetings:
1) Of the 169 games between the two sides, Everton just shade it with 69 wins to Newcastle’s 65.
2) Newcastle have not won this away fixture since September 2010 courtesy of a Hatem Ben Arfa stunner.
3) In fact, the Magpies have only recorded 3 wins at Goodison Park since the turn of the Century (15 games). Everton have won 8 of those games.
4) Everton have won 6 of the last 8 games against Newcastle.
5) One glimmer of hope is that Everton have not won in the league since they bet the Toon back in December.
6) Unfortunately for us – both Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku love playing Newcastle. They have 8 goals and 4 assists between them from a collective total of 12 games against us. That’s a goal a game…
Team News:
Everton:
Oumar Niasse misses out as he arrived after the midday cut off point. Muhamed Besic (hamstring) faces another fortnight out whilst Kevin Mirallas (tendon) misses out. Tim Howard is touch and go as he recovers from a knee injury. Tony Hibbert remains a long term absentee.
Newcastle United:
Flying winger and new signing Andros Townsend looks set to make his debut whilst Seydou Doubia may also feature if he gets his visa in time. This game may come too soon for Jack Colback (hamstring) but Paul Dummett (also hamstring) is expected to be available. Vurnon Anita (you guessed it…hamstring) is not expected to be have sufficiently recovered whilst Gabriel Obertan (yes…hamstring again) is not back until March – but he can expect to play little part in the remainder of this season provided this hamstring ‘coincidence’ does not become an epidemic…Tim Krul and Massaido Haidara (both knee) remain long term absentee’s along with Curtis Good.
Shamrock’s Blasts from the Past:
Just a little reminder of some of the players that have worn both the Toffee’s and Magpies’ shirts in previous years then; Sylvain Distin, Allesandro Pistone, Dan Gosling, Duncan Ferguson, Steve Watson, Peter Beardsley, Paul Gascoigne, the late Gary Speed, David Ginola and finally Paul Bracewell. So there you go – some cracking players and mutually appreciated legends – some not so much!
An important game for us then, but an extremely difficult one.
Referee:
Officiating this one will be 36-year-old Craig Pawson, who first officiated a Premier League game between Swansea and our very own Toon. The result? 1-0 to Swansea, who would beat us in the same fixture later that year by 3 goals to Nil with none other than a certain Mr Shelvey scoring! Pawson has officiated 6 Newcastle games since the beginning of the 2012/2013 season – with the Magpies registering 2 wins.
Everton V Newcastle United
Goodison Park
19:45 3rd February 2016
HWTL!!
In fact I’d prefer Obertan.
georgio(Quote)
We also have 21 points from 24 games which is 0.875 points per game. I agree with you that we need a serious uptick in points per game but disagree we need to play like Champions.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Moreover, 1.36 points per game times 38 games is 52 points. So, essentially we have to play like a mid-table team from here on out, which is how we should have been playing anyway and certainly now with the reinforcements.
It is bad, but don’t go over the top. YET 🙂 🙂 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Last year Stoke were 9th on 54, Palace 10th on 48 and Everton 11th on 47. So mid-table averaged almost exactly 1.36 points per game which is what we need to get to 40.
Chelsea had 87 for an average of 2.28 per game.
See what I am saying Stuart?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Well yesterday was pretty ****…I get that new players need time to gel, but we don’t have much time if we want to go on a run and get out of this hole! There is no way that this squad should get relegated when compared to the dross around us! But we’ve said that before and we all know what happened then…
First season for McClaren and there’s no doubt that we needed to reinforce the squad but surely he can’t survive too many more experiences like that when we’ve spent so much…
Performances of Carver and McClaren put Pardew in a very different light surely?
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
What you are saying Eric is that if we do not improve our performances we will remain in the bottom three until the end of the season.
We all know that.
The television cameras often show some bloke sitting in our dug out with what looks like a peg board and I used to wonder why he was playing Chinese Chequers and not watching the game. Now i realise he is an incompetent attempting to put square pegs into round holes
Anybody know who he is?.
sidekick(Quote)
Didn’t control the midfield from what I saw and offered virtually no goal threat. For me that says we picked the wrong team or McClaren was just outsmarted and failed to react. Looked like we were set up to break with pace. Would have been more threatening if Mitrovic had started, but the poor guy really left his shooting boots behind!
Would love to see an ex top striker like Shearer (or even Rush) come in and work with Mitrovic on his finishing. Not just technique but also mentality. I suspect he’s trying too hard, rushing it and his head is just continually not in the right place. I think he needs confidence.
Townsend being rusty is to be expected, but we need players to deliver.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Articles with headlines like “Put simply – Newcastle United ‘deserve’ to be relegated” from The Mag are why I hate that site. It may as well have been written by a mackem and often reads like it has!
Put simply…we deserve to be relegated if we’re in the bottom 3 at the end of the season. If we go on a fantastic run and finish in 12th place then we certainly don’t deserve to be relegated! Villa, Sunderland, Norwich, Swansea and West Brom have also been dire.
**** site. **** writers.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Yes SM is making a pigs ear of it fans shouting for high profile manager,that’s not going to happen but there good managers out there that would not cost the earth,Take the Watford manager he brought them up and is doing ok with not a great deal of money but his team would be a site further up the lge with our clas of player,now the new Norwich new manager lost some good players but seems he’s to have steadied the side all Ime saying is there guys out there,something has to be done or we are going down and imo Penfold is not up to it
Icedog(Quote)
Sorry should have read Swansea manager not Norwich
Icedog(Quote)
TDS – the Mag writers are just fans like you not paid journos. Just don’t go there.
georgio(Quote)
ICEDOG
None of these managers are necessarily better than Steve McClaren though. Anyone can have a decent season or two. Watford guy is flying at the moment, largely thanks to a front two that are in great form. But if one is sold this summer, the other doesn’t click with the replacement, then we could be seeing him sacked in 12 months time. Football is very fickle…
There are no guarantees that we could get a better manager in, because we’re not much more attractive than the like of Swansea, Norwich and Watford. Sad…
McClaren will probably be given until the end of the season, but I’m definitely concerned about his ability to get the most out of these players.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
GEORGIO
I’m going there. I don’t care if they’re paid or not, their headlines for articles should be written with less bias. Fans read some of these articles and regurgitate these opinions as facts. It’s not even written in an editorial way!
If the writer is offering his/her opinion, then it should read “Why I believe that Newcastle United ‘deserve’ to be relegated”.
I’m tired of reading all of these negative articles from amateur hacks. Constructive criticism and frustrated opinions are well deserved, but not **** like that.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS he didn’t have one those front guys when he brought them he just brought the other when they got to the PL,don’t forget he lost a top striker after two games in,to me he seems to get the best out of what he has,I think maybe even the villa manager is getting “work” out of what he has they have had some good draws and never really been thumped,SM just does not seem able to blend the players he has what annoys me about him he keeps saying they are playing great,I must have blinked and missed that bit
Icedog(Quote)
ICEDOG
My point is that anyone can have an incredible half of a season. Pardew had a great season too. It doesn’t mean much. Any manager we could get would either be ok or unproven. Any well established manager with top flight experience wouldn’t join us unless he’s a fan, sees us as a stepping stone or we pay a fortune and show a plan for huge investment. Sadly, there’s not another Sir Bobby out there…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Personally, Eric,8 think winning 40% of your remaining 14 games is Championship winning for. If you don’t that’s fair enough but I bet if Leicester don’t win at least 40% of their remaining games they won’t win the league.
Basically we’re up the creek without a paddle! Talk of 1.38 points per game is just complete bollocks when we have only 0.8 points per game. That’s a hell of an upturn in form! But like you said, you’re assuming we beat WBA. Why don’t we assume we’ll beat Man City, Chelsea, Leicester, Spurs and Southampton while we’re at it! We’re safe!!! Great stuff. That’s easier doing it like that isnt it…
Stuart79(Quote)
TDS – If you don’t think Moyes is better than ok you really have no idea about success in football and it’s relativity.
Stuart79(Quote)
Or Benitez for that matter. He’s available and has already intimated a couple of years ago he would be interested in the job.
Stuart79(Quote)
We don’t need 0.8 points per game or 1.38 points per game. What we need to do is play well enough to finish with more points than 3 other teams. At the moment we’re 2 points behind Norwich and 2 points ahead of Sunderland. So that’s all we need to know. Simple.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Benitez? Liverpool, Inter, Chelsea, Napoli, Real Madrid…Newcastle???
It’s possible…but doesn’t seem too likely.
As for Moyes, how do you think most fans would take to his dour personality and dour attitude to how football should be played? He built a legacy at Everton over many years, including several that were poor and involved a relegation battle. If we’re prepared to give someone that amount of time and stick with them through relegation battles, then fair enough. But perhaps McClaren could do the same if we stuck with him for a decade too…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Stuart @391: the 1.36 points per game did not assume we beat WBA. It was just a bit of maths saying how many points per game we need from here. Obviously that will change after the next game as we can only get 0, 1, or 3.
You might want to reread what I wrote. If Leicester do not get 2 points or above per game from here then somebody else will and will win the league. That is Champions form and not the 1.36 points or thereabouts we need to survive. It is simple maths and I don’t know why you keep bring up winning 40% of our games.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I also said that we have underachieved and that getting 1.36 points per game will be a big uptick in form JUST NOT CHAMPIONS FORM as you are stressing. Read what I wrote.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
STUART79 345
the only stupid person round here is you buddy hes took arsenal as far as he can in my opinion so why not ask if he would be intrested and i aint the stupid person thought we be better off going down last season and shouting for moyes now ya only a year to late mr stupid
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
TDS: we do need about 1.36 points per game to give us a decent chance of survival with about 40 points. It is not a guarantee and is obviously dependent on what other teams do but that is the threshold that is often used.
That number is not unachievable because that is what a mid-table team averages over a season as I have already pointed out. Therefore we need to average mid-table standard not Champions standard from here on out. That is all I am saying to Stuart.
I am not even saying whether we will or not, I am only saying what we need.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here is even more simple maths. We have 21 points and 14 games to play. 3 wins gets us to 30 points. We could draw the next 11 and be on 41. THAT IS NOT CHAMPIONS FORM and IT DOES NOT REQUIRE WINNING 40% OF OUR GAMES.
It is unlikely it will happen that way but Stuart keeps banging on about us needing 40% wins and Champions form when that is patently not true.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The likely scenario is that we need 4 or 5 wins and quite a few draws to survive and it will also be important who we beat (Mackems, Norwich, Swans, WBA).
Meanwhile, the likely champions will win about 9 of their remaining games. That is not certain but is usually the way it happens.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
ERIC
I know what you mean. I think he’s nitpicking.
Basically we need to get more points than Sunderland and 2 or 3 more than Norwich though. Those are the key teams that we want to lose for the rest of the season.
I have no idea why people keep talking about this ‘magical’ total of 40. It might be a nice first target to focus players on but it’s neither safe or unsafe.
You want to look at maths, well at the rate we’re scoring, we’ll have 33.25 points at the end of the season while Norwich will have 36.4. So theoretically Norwich need just 34 points to survive and relegate us, while we need 37 points to overtake Norwich. So…we need 1.14 points per game to overtake Norwich if their form is the same.
Of course football could pop up loads of surprises…we could win 5 games on the trot but so could Villa and Sunderland…that’s the beauty of football.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Talk of Arsene Wenger is absolutely madness. What on earth does somebody have to be smoking to think that he would be a realistic target?
Shamrock(Quote)
the trouble with a lot of you guys is ya want a top coach but are not willing to throw ya hats into the ring to get him hes got dosh to spend so why would he not be intrested at the very least its worth an ask
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
I don’t think we are buried yet, but something drastic needs to happen such as a new manager. Either way, it will be between us and Norwich.
Shamrock(Quote)
dont ask ya dont get
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
People are indeed mad to suggest Wenger! If he decides he wants to leave Arsenal, why would anyone think that he’d want to join a cauldron of passion like us? More likely he’ll wind down with an international job or back in France or an emerging league.
Moyes is the only realistic target I’ve heard so far. I reckon he’d do well for us but I also reckon fans would get frustrated with his dour football. Look at how much time the fans gave Big Sam…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
just as mad to shout for klopp last year
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Good comments from Deeney. He is what this club is missing – a straight talking proper leader.
Shamrock(Quote)
http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11686/10155257/watford-captain-troy-deeney-to-speak-to-juan-carlos-paredes-over-pathetic-incident
Shamrock(Quote)
what can he say if ya ask yes or no if its no after hes looked at the proposal move on try the next 1,this top manager aint ganna come banging on our door saying give me the job is he
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Who was thinking Klopp would come to us last year? Maybe some 10 year old who signed up during the school holidays, or maybe it was you TAE, Wenger indeed. You and Troysta should get together and put together a shortlist, Lee Clark 🙂 🙂 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Arsene Wenger for Toon 😯 😆
Shamrock(Quote)
ERIC SYKES
<<<<<<<<<<<<< wernt this dude shouting for klopp last year and this is why we wont win anything here our surporters dint want to top manager do they eric the likes of you and stu would have nothing to gripe about then would ya.a lot of our surporters make me laugh ya say the club has no ambition but some of our surporters can also be accused of that if ya aint even willing to try
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Lets get Jose Mourinho 😛
He’s out of work, wont want any control and will accept a paltry wage to boot.
oh wait……………….
Beardsleys Boots(Quote)
TAE: I am not griping. I think I have been level headed. My stance on McClaren was I was 100% certain we should not have hired him but was not 100% certain he should be fired given the fact that the same people who hired him would be hiring a new manager.
I really don’t think I have been very critical of the team given our results.
I admit I thought Pardew was a gobshite and Carver an idiot but I am certainly not alone there.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here Stuart: The Mirror just did a quick summary of what the bottom 4 would need to average to stay up in an average season. Hardly Champions fckin form is it:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/how-much-premier-leagues-bottom-7310543?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
McClaren needs to be sacked before he relegates the team.
Terry(Quote)
bit of maths for ya
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/how-much-premier-leagues-bottom-7310543
kimtoon(Quote)
ERIC SYKES
offer him a fat wage and a fat budget whats the worst that could happen he says no,is the world ganna come to a grinding halt if he says no
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Eric, snap 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Kimtoon: I know Stuart is stubborn but I don’t get his logic on this at all.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
That was a bit disappointing. We didn’t look too good. At least Townsend worked hard on the wing. This whole problem with the defense is ridiculous. They could have fixed it over the last 2 or 3 windows but didn’t. How many owners destroy their own clubs by spending huge amounts of money? It’s a new one for me…..
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I think we should approach Guardiola.
I am also assuming Norwich, Bournemouth or Swansea don’t win another game so we only need to win another couple of games.
Stuart79(Quote)
We still need 6 more wins (and a few draws would be nice) to stay up. But 6 wins from our last 14 when we have 5 from 24? What a pickle. And a clueless owner leading us….. Sound desperate?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We didn’t get the ball nearly enough to Shelvey in the first half to get him going. His passing was off again. Saivet started well but faded badly. Mitro can’t hit the net. Perez is too small to be a CF. Doumbia had better be hell on wheels for us to survive now……
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Top comment from Deeney. Agree, exactly what we need from a captain. Taylor is the only one who talks like this but I don’t think he’s quite bright enough to be a captain and he barely bloody plays anyway…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Sissoko seemed to give up in the second half. Fairly typical for him but what is the attacking plan McCarver? Everything we do is far too slow and we usually end up petering out down the wing, trapped in the corners.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/trainer/verfuegbaretrainer/statistik/?statistik=&plus=0
Take your pick
premandup(Quote)
What do we do at the back now? I would think the back four for West Brom would be:
Janmaat Saylor Colo Colback
Haidara, injured, Anita injured, Dummett, injured, Willo sold, Mbemba injured, Lascelles suspended (red), Mbabu injured.
Brilliant to get more defensive cover in the window wasn’t it?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We’re not going to sign 4 players with our current manager, then sack him after 1 game! Jesus, if you guys manage any staff, your turnover must be incredible based on mistakes that people make! We’ve played pretty well the last few games but haven’t got the results. Then we got dicked on by Everton.
Need to give him a few games to get some results. If we’re still in dire trouble in say 5 games, then agree we need to consider getting shot of him and bringing someone in who can give us a boost and get survival. Don’t care who that is, just want to ensure we stay up.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Julen Lopetegui 2.37 points per game wow
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Errr…do we know if Mbemba and Dummett aren’t going to be fit or are you just being negative? Again…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
The Pulis approach will be a real problem for us. Draw fouls, and force corners. Send the big boys forward to knock a few in and knock a few down. Defend with discipline.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Both are out for a while TDS (from Physio Room). Dummett, hamstring, no return date. Mbemba, ankle/foot injury, no return date, and Anita, hamstring Feb. 28th return.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Part of reality is negative TDS mate. I don’t mind being called negative when it’s required. It would bother me to live in a fantasy land where everything is always positive though. Just a point of view I suppose. We’re in 18th place with 5 wins for a lot of reasons. None of which are positive.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I actually love being positive about the club when I can. I love the Doumbia signing but we will have to give him service to put the ball in the net. I’ve hated our approach to bringing in defenders for years. I can’t help it. Our defense is terrible. Statistics over several years don’t lie. We give up far too many goals to ever be successful in the Prem or in the domestic cups.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
There now, grumpy behavior over. 😀 The sun is shining (somewhere) and all is right with the world. Except McCarver looks slightly out of sorts for some reason……
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Let’s think now, what else is positive at the club? Carver is not in charge, Joe Kinnear is gone, Llambeezee works elsewhere, Mike is busy looking at the accounts book and sobbing quietly wondering why he ever bothered with football…….
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Off to practice guitar now (I’m terrible at it but love it anyway). As for our current team, eventually we’ll either get it right or finish up in Division Two with Ashley a broken man. That’s not a bad thought at all…… 😆
GeordieTwo(Quote)
bloody hell wish i never started about good managers out there the like of the Watford ect,its caused a lot of bother on here 🙄
icedog(Quote)
TDS – I’ve been advocating sacking McClaren since he walked through the door because unlike some I knew he’d be a disaster and take us down. You on the other hand have just stumble-bummed your way round another dismal season.
We will have Taylor and Colo as our centre backs on Saturday. They’re sure to play Berahino with the pace we won’t have at the back. Anyone in the club who can play left back? I know John Beresford does match day hospitality so maybe we can ask him.
Stuart79(Quote)
ICEDOG
not really bud the point im trying to make here is if the managers ganna be sacked we need to aim big not aim small
TOONARMYELITE(Quote)
Stu, Colo and Saylor have had a pretty good partnership before, I know Colo was younger then and Saylor isn’t match fit but we have to hope they combine well that’s all. It’s about time Saylor earned his wedge so he needs to step up now. God knows who will be at LB though, better not be Aarons. 🙄
kimtoon(Quote)
One of the biggest positives we have going for us is that we’re still only 2 points out of 17th place and Norwich are a horrible club to watch. They have 6 wins to our 5 and far less talent (at least on paper). Surely we can pass them before the end of the season?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
TAE, has a point, if we are to replace him then Jabba needs to throw serious wages to the best coach he can get and promise a hands on remit where transfers are concerned.
kimtoon(Quote)
It’s got to be Colback at LB surely. He’s not mentioned on physio room so he must be fit?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Right now an ambitious coach has the perfect chance to gain hero status with the Toon faithful . Question is how ambitious is Jabba, or how greedy ?
kimtoon(Quote)
G2, Reckon you are right, he’s the only one really but who’s his cover on the bench?
kimtoon(Quote)
Yeah but we also have to keep it realistic. Arsene Wenger ffs. That’s not being ambitious, it’s being stark raving mad.
Shamrock(Quote)