This weekend see’s Newcastle United travel to Stamford Bridge looking to consolidate their position clear of the relegation zone. Chelsea have been unbreakable since Guus Hiddink came in though, so this will be no easy task.
Chelsea:
The Blues are fortunate to have a very clean bill of health, with only 3 players currently injured. However, the loss of Kurt Zouma for 6 months with an ACL knee injury is a big loss. Ramadel Falcao has done his groin in (he rarely plays these days so he must have done this some other….’ahem’….way…) whilst ex-Toon striker Loic Remy is likely to recover from a calf injury in time to challenge for a place in the match-day squad.
Newcastle United:
Unsurprisingly, Newcastle United is top of the treatment table league. Tim Krul (ACL knee) and Curtis Good (hip) remain out for the season but we can expect returns to the match day squad for Siem De Jong (eye) and Jack Colback (hamstring) whilst Daryl Janmaat has shaken off a thigh injury. This game comes too soon for Kevin Mbabu (thigh) and Vurnon Anita (hamstring), who are scheduled to return at the end of the month. Gabby Obertan (hamstring) and Massaido Haidara (knee) are out for at least a month still, whilst there is no news on Paul Dummett (hamstring) or Chancel Mbemba (ankle).
Shamrock’s Stats & Facts:
1) Chelsea are unbeaten in the league since Guus Hiddink took over from Jose Mourinho.
2) Newcastle have failed to score or take a single point in their last 3 visits to Stamford Bridge.
3) Chelsea have failed beat the Toon in the last 11 games between the sides when Newcastle have scored.
4) Guus Hiddink has only lost 1 of his 21 Premier League matches.
5) The Blues are on the longest current unbeaten run in the league, with 9.
6) Newcastle have taken more points off Chelsea (13) than any other team in the last 5 seasons.
7) The Magpies have only won twice on the road this season, losing the last 4 away games.
8) Chelsea have drawn their last 4 home games – against Watford, West Brom, Everton and Manchester United.
9) The most goals ever scored in this fixture was in the 1958/1959 season – Chelsea winning 6-5.
10) The Magpies have scored less goals on the road than any other team this season.
Referee:
Officiating this one is 50-year-old Roger East, who represents the Wiltshire County FA. Despite his age, he only took to being the man in the middle from the 2006/2007 season – being a linesman before that, including at the 2004 FA Cup Final. East was only promoted to the Premier League Select Group from the 2013/2014 season. He is a relatively steady referee with no history of contentious decisions of note. He has taken charge of 4 Newcastle games this season, including our 2 losses to Watford, our draw with Stoke and our last away victory at Tottenham Hotspur.
Final Thought:
Whilst Wijnaldum’s goals and our 2 recent league wins have been a big lift for us in our relegation battle, it has all been at home. If Newcastle is serious about staying up, then the players need to start performing away from home. We are the worst team in the league on the road and that is really not good enough. Whilst Chelsea are unbeaten in 10, they just cannot buy win at home at the moment. If our boys apply themselves with the kind of passion and fight they showed against West Brom, then I’d be quietly confident of coming away from Stamford Bridge with a point – that’s unless McClaren gets his tactics and selection completely wrong again like he did against Everton during our last away trip….
One big thing we have going for us is that our side seems to step up for the games broadcast on national television. This fixture is on Sky Sports – so fingers crossed!!
Chelsea V Newcastle United
Stamford Bridge
Saturday 13th February 2016
Kick Off: 17:30 Live on Sky Sports 1.
with an 18 day beak there could’nt be a better time to sack the plonker.
can’t see ash doing it tho – he’ll be thinking there will be 3 teams slightly ******* than us.
nowt’s changed really.
roy cropper(Quote)
80mil spent and 7 was on a defender. no problem! we have Saylor on his sickbed.
this window, despite Mitro scoring 4 goals we sign Doumbia on loan even though he’s not fit. 😯
SM is **** but he’s in great company.
Gashley(Quote)
http://mobile.newsnow.co.uk/A/2/816281564?-11058:809
A fair assessment from the true Geordie I’d say
Sharpy17(Quote)
Gashley
You got a hangover from the cherries? 😆
Cofusing? You certainly cofuse me.
At 493 you say I haven’t answered whether we could attract moyes. I answered that question at 437 when debating the issue with Stuart and you were butting in. 🙂
Wake up. Keep up. Smell the coffee. 😉
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Doumbia gets the big write up in the Chronny, he’ll be just like Collos Argy mate from Russia, Ferduca or whatever his face was called…
Munich Mag(Quote)
so would he take the job or not? he might be asked to be a coach..
you have always maintained we wouldnt get anyone decent under Ashley?
Are you confident Ashley will change his ways and hire a manager, not a coach…
Gashley(Quote)
Benitez don’t make me laugh. 😛
Now that’s a manager way out of our reach.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
he nearly signed for West Ham. If we changed our policy like youre suggesting we will. how is he out of reach?
Gashley(Quote)
Gashley
Moyes would not come to the toon.
The reason we have spent a huge amount of money is not because we are ambitious or Ashleys changed his ways, it’s because he’s desperate to stay in the premier league and his hand has been forced.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Who is suggesting we will change our policy. ?
Troy Stavers(Quote)
No mention of the fact Troy was proved wrong again about my comments on McClaren I see.
Stuart79(Quote)
His better than Colocini’s mate Chucky 😎 At least he actually kicked the ball once yesterday.
Terry(Quote)
Troy, if Ashley is desperate enough to spend £80m he’s desperate enough to appoint a good manager and tinker with his flawed structure. But I personally think it would be a compromise. Although God knows why. His preferred structure has brought him nothing but grief, faliure, relegation and probably another relegation!
Stuart79(Quote)
so who are these managers we could attract that are available?
clarky lol
Gashley(Quote)
JC on football focus on BBC1 at the mo. Haven’t spoke about NUFC yet but I bet he’s the one grinning today
Sharpy17(Quote)
I’m suggesting we should and given some of the names being thrown about, others are too. no way will the likes of Benitez, Moyes etc would come here under these conditions..
So we best get Clarky in fast…
Gashley(Quote)
“It’s not warm weather training, it’s a training camp”
Jesus wept McClaren. He’s really feeling the pressure now. Get rid of the tool.
Newkie(Quote)
Well done Stuart that puts you up a rung on the ladder. That’s rung one 😛
So I wasn’t the only one. Gashley still dithering. 😀
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Gashley
No, you just stick with McLaren. We can’t get anyone better. 😀
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Carver saying Colo not really a leader and plays for himself!!!! Hard hitting!
Stuart79(Quote)
That’s rung one on a ladder that’s above ground.
Stuart79(Quote)
Gashley even if Mike hired a descent manager like Venables, Atkinson or Sven then he’d only some ridiculous director of football to derail him.
Terry(Quote)
All the talk about where we spent the money, Steve smiling, mid-winter breaks and yesterdays terrible performance should not obscure the fact that 6 wins in 26 games means you should be sacked. End of story, whoever the serious replacement is.
I say serious replacement so Lee Clark will not be mentioned again.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
You actually could have said it would have been harsh to sack him after 10 games even though he said himself to judge him after 10. However, 26 is enough and we know we play about 1 good game in 3 and that might get us relegated. It is a massive gamble to keep Steve and probably more of a gamble than getting a new manager.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Lee Clark could do a better job than McLaren. McLaren hasn’t left much to better.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
If we’re being stupid then Carver could do a better job than McClaren – he kept us up at least and didn’t have the luxury of all the money spent. In fact he had to put up with half his defence being sold!
Stuart79(Quote)
lee clark 😯
hitman(Quote)
Jesus Troy. The relative merits of Clark and McClaren only matter in your mind. He is not a candidate and we can ignore him.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here’s a question. If Troy had not mentioned Lee Clark would anybody else have even muttered his name under their breath as a possible manager? No, move on.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Why are we evening discussing Clark again? What’s the reason? What about Kenny Jacket?
Stuart79(Quote)
Told you we’d get something, Neat finish by Townsend… 😳
I’m still staggered that he thought Aarons at left back away at Chelsea was a good idea. Use Colback there or Even Play Lascelles at CB & put Taylor there he played RB/LB enough in the past. It Just invited them onto us from the start.
CC(Quote)
Simpson sent off. Not sure if it was deserved and was not big team bias again.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here’s another question – if Carver doesn’t see Colo as a leader, why did HE keep him captain during his time in charge and his own relegation battle? 😕 😆
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy – Maybe it’s his experience during that period that made him come to that decision? But more likely he probably thought it would be more trouble than it’s worth changing your captain half way through a season…
Eric, don’t think it was a yellow to be honest but the ref is trying to even it due to him being fooled by Vardy.
Stuart79(Quote)
But it’s hard to disagree with Carver re Colo. He has never looked like a leader to me.
Stuart79(Quote)
But Carver will do everything he can to push the blame off himself just like all bad managers do.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric – Carver’s performance last season is looking better by the game to be honest.
Stuart79(Quote)
According to McClaren our away form is inconsistent. Really?! We’re consistently poor and consistently lose. That anything but inconsistent you idiot!
Stuart79(Quote)
Stuart: Carver’s performance was still dire no matter what Steve hasn’t done or the new players he was given. They are both ****.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Yes, just McClaren is *******!
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – yeah but Colo was leading him into relegation. If he saw he was no leader on the pitch then changing him is less hassle that getting his beloved NUFC relegated.
One thing I would say in favour of Carver is that McClaren might go on about injuries now, but Carver had a worse group of player and a lot more injuries and suspensions to contend with.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Poor Leicester, their fans might be the only ones sadder after this weekend than us. At least they’ve still got hope though 😆
Newkie(Quote)
Glad Arsenal won. Vardy cheating deserved to get nothing.
Stuart79(Quote)
Leicester will fold now
CC(Quote)
Sadly I think our bed is now made. The fans needed to put pressure on Schteve a lot earlier, prior to January really so that the new man could ask for the players that the board were obviously WILLING to spend on. I doubt Ashley will act now, and there’s barely any time for a new man to come in and change things up.
Newkie(Quote)
CC: Leicester have Villa and West Brom at home next. They just came through their toughest 3 game stretch with 2 wins and a loss. Plus they have to play us at their place 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I think that’s a tough call for anybody to make halfway through a season, Sharpy. Don’t think I’ve ever seen a manager change the captain of 5 years halfway through the season.
You’re right about the team though. Carver had to play Janmaat at centre half, Anita and Colback as full backs and didn’t have Cisse for 10 games, yet we didn’t have this bad a record. How can Charnley or Ashley not see this??
Stuart79(Quote)
Newkie – I tend to agree unfortunately. The only thing we could hope for was a new manager bounce of a couple of wins. Personally I think that would be a huge boost as I don’t see it happening with McClaren. Our home games won’t keep us up as we will come a cropper at some point at home by being unlucky or just ****.
Stuart79(Quote)
by the time they come to SJP, the teams we are desperate to beat will be so far in front of us they’ll shut up shop and take home the necessary point, and /or catch us on the break.
They know our defence is garbage, so will take full advantage…
Our home crowd have a massive part to play in our survival…
Munich Mag(Quote)
Didn’t think this nugget would ever get a job
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/feb/14/kilmarnock-set-to-appoint-lee-clark-new-manager
Icedog(Quote)
Stuart: we actually did have this bad a record under Carver, although he had bad luck. We lost 8 in a row and 9 out of 11. I think the 8 in a row was an all time NUFC record. Appointing both of them were mistakes made by Charnley and he still has a job. Time for the Fat Man to have a few interviews while Steve is sunning himself.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sharpy@558 – for me mate, changing captain halfway through a season when you NEED to play him is dangerous business. Our morale was fragile, swapping him at any point, in January (when we still seemed totally safe) would have raised questions and then possibly been to blame for our poor form, and after that it could have caused more issues. At the end of the day we survived because Colo’s best mate Jonas turned up on the last day 😆
Steve has none of those excuses. Every god **** fan knew Colo should be stripped of the armband, and what did Steve do? Ask for an extension, not bother with a replacement, and even keep the guy as fucking captain. He showed me we were ****ed right from there tbh 😆
Newkie(Quote)
I think we will be second bottom by the time we play next.
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – exactly. If we could just get a few wins, like has happened at Swansea, or like Sunderland have done every single season, then I think we’d have been safe. Get those initial points on board and we’d have enough confidence to get by because the players are good enough even without great ideas. Sadly we don’t seem willing and at this rate will go without a whimper.
Newkie(Quote)
Stu/Newkie – I totally agree regarding changing Colo, I was just being a little facetious.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Fair point but they also have to play tough nuts like Everton, Southampton, West Ham, Watford & trips to man Utd & Chelsea.
Maybe fold was the wrong word but I don’t think they will win it now
CC(Quote)
Based on the fact there hasn’t even been a rumour or peep from the club about McClaren getting the bullet – I think we’re stuck with him coz I don’t see them sacking him now.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy – fair enough. Carver took a lot of stick and most of it warranted, but **** me has Schteve made him look more reasonable 😆
Newkie(Quote)
well, at least Liverpool have scored.
Newkie(Quote)
Yeah, Sharpy, I think we’re stuck with island head. Last week Mark Douglas said there was absolutely no talk of sacking him. But then did go on to say the 18 day break would be the perfect time to do it. But let’s be honest, it would have been done by now as its been terrible all season.
Stuart79(Quote)
Newkie: a tallest dwarf competition?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Looks like Villa are down so that is only 2 relegation places to worry about now.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Newkie – I always thought that the club knew we were in need of big changes when Pardew left. They needed someone who would cost them no money at all to see the rest of the season out & Carver was ideal. He was already there and the players knew him – plus they knew that any new manager would want rid of him so he was the perfect fall guy if things went wrong. On the flip side, if he did a good job, even better as they could be seen as the good guys sticking with him and cost them no money at all.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Lee Ryder on good form. Reckons they won’t make a change because they won’t want to pay compo! How much will they need to pay them – £100m?
Stuart79(Quote)
Walcott, Welbeck, Vardy and Sturridge, Milner all on the scoresheet today – old Roy Hodgson will be a happy bunny today.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Ryder also made the comment hat the fact McClaren came out to do his interviews means it’s unlikely they will make a change!!! As if they’d sack him in the changing room after the game! Is this man for real? He’s just wanting clicks on the page man!
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu – **** compo. Leave him on the board and bring Nuno in who works with Cathro anyway.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy – exactly. Plus, no fan of Newcastle United was saying how desperately **** our squad was, or that it was among the three worst in the league as has now become popular. The incredulity of Pardew leaving to Palace was confusing and most people were happy.
People were talking about the push to top 8, not the slide down. The club should have done better but to be fair I don’t think anyone expected it to get that bad.
Newkie(Quote)
I wouldn’t be brining anyone in who hasn’t worked in the PL, not in this situation. We need someone who knows what’s what. Klopp has even stated this league has caught him off guard. Moyes for me. Even Rodgers or Benitez.
Stuart79(Quote)
There’ll be some seriously big clubs in the Championship next season, that’s for sure.
Stuart79(Quote)
Stuart: Rodgers said the other day that he was doing pre and post match interviews even though FSG had decided to sack him. As usual, I think Ryder is naive and doesn’t know what he is talking about. He was one of Carver’s staunchest defenders until he wasn’t and ignored the fact he backed him ever since.
Now he is using terms such as boot camp and 2-a-day sessions. Repeating the soundbites of the regime as usual and not asking the real questions. Typical Chronicle, typical Ryder.
Suddenly we need a boot camp and 2-days. I thought everything was under control (well, until yesterday it seems)? Don’t panic, don’t panic.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Is the “boot camp” to build up fitness? Is it bonding? They have had 8 months to do this already, what were they doing? I can understand a new manager coming in and changing things but is Steve changing everything again but in training this time? I thought he was hired as one of the bestest coaches ever, so why the change.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I like what Ryder said about the board still thinking we will avoid relegation. Of course they fckin well do. McClaren is on the board, he was Charnley’s personal choice and Carr picked the players.
You can’t rely on McClaren and his partners in crime to sack him. Only Ashley will make that decision.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stu – Moyes would be my preference but I think Nuno would do just fine as well personally. He’s worked well with Cathro in the past who could bring him up to speed quick enough. **** had no experience but worked his magic on the Scum last season.
I wouldn’t complain if either Moyes or Nuno replaced the Reaper though.
I’ll be so ****** off if we go down and have to sell half these players off though – just as we are finally getting a decent group of players to watch.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Eric – McClaren used the excuse that they couldn’t get a friendly match in this country. I’m still not sure why that meant they had to go to Spain to train?
Stuart79(Quote)