Stoke City vs Newcastle United: Match Preview

Venue: Britannia Stadium

Date: 2/03/2016

Time: 7:45 PM BST

Newcastle United travel to the Britannia Stadium to square off against Stoke City on Wednesday night and the Magpies could potentially lift themselves off of the relegation zone by avoiding a defeat from the clash.

Without even playing, Newcastle United enjoyed a very positive weekend in the Premier League after seeing rivals Sunderland, Norwich City and Aston Villa all suffer defeats in their respective matches.

Before Newcastle United feature in a competitive fixture against Stoke City on Wednesday night (for the first time since February 13), they will have two games in hand over Sunderland, Norwich and Villa.

However, points on the board are clearly more important than games in hand and it will be of paramount importance for the Magpies to claim something from their visit to the Britannia Stadium in midweek.

Newcastle United Team News

Newcastle United used the opportunity of the extended break to head to sunny Spain and conducted a warm-weather training camp at the La Manga Club resort. During their stay in Spain, Newcastle featured in a friendly against Lillestorm and managed to claim a 2-1 victory over the Norwegian side.

The break has allowed the likes of Vurnon Anita and Siem De Jong to return to fitness but the likes of Curtis Good, Chancel Mbemba, Gabriel Oberton and Ivan Toney remain out.

Tim Krul and Massadio Haidara are still nursing themselves back from long term knee injuries while as a blow, captain Fabricio Coloccini picked up a calf problem in Spain and is likely to miss the next few matches.

In the game against Lillestorm, Karl Darlow, Jamal Lascelles, Liam Gibson, Henri Saivet and Seydou Doumbia were all handed a chance to start while Jonjo Shelvey was named as skipper in the absence of Coloccini.

It is expected that McClaren will make wholesale changes to the side which featured in Spain but the likes of Lascelles, Saivet and even young Gibson may be in contention to start against Stoke.

Newcastle United Probable Lineup

Rob Elliot was handed a rest against Lillestorm and he is very likely to replace Darlow between the sticks against Stoke on Wednesday night. With Mbemba and Coloccini out, Lascelles should start at the heart of the backline alongside Steven Taylor.

Rolando Aarons had a shocker against Chelsea in the Premier League last time out but he somewhat managed to recover by scoring the winner in the friendly against Lillestorm and the youngster is expected to start at left back, while Daryl Janmaat continues on the right.

Liam Gibson did well in Spain but McClaren may decide not to throw the youngster in against a team such as Stoke which possesses a number of quality wide players.

Jack Colback and Jonjo Shelvey are likely to start at the middle of the park while Georginio Wijnaldum will be playing in the hole behind the long striker. Andros Townsend and Moussa Sissoko look set to be occupying the wide positions while Henri Saivet could also be in contention.

With Mitrovic and Cisse both struggling, Ayoze Perez might get the nod to lead the line but Seydou Doumbia may also fancy his chances of starting on the night.

(4-2-3-1)

Elliot; Janmaat, Lascelles, Taylor, Aarons; Shelvey, Colback, Townsend, Wijnaldum, Sissoko; Perez

Stoke City Probable Lineup

The likes of Charlie Adam, Shay Given, Glen Johnson, Marc Muniesa, Ryan Shawcross and Marc Wilson all remain ruled out and it is very likely that the Potters will go with the same lineup which started in the 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.

(4-2-3-1)

Butland; Pieters, Wollscheid, Cameron, Bardsley; Imbula, Whelan, Arnautovic, Afellay, Shaqiri; Walters

Last Meetings

31/10/2015 Newcastle United 0 – 0 Stoke City

08/02/2015 Newcastle United 1 – 1 Stoke City

Stat Attack

  • Newcastle United and Stoke City have squared off against each other 67 times, with Magpies claiming 30 victories while the Potters earning 21
  • Newcastle have failed to beat Stoke in their last four consecutive encounters and have suffered 1-0 defeats in their last two visits to the Britannia Stadium
  • Stoke City have lost only once in their last five matches at home while Newcastle United have failed to claim a single point on their travels in their last five
  • Newcastle have only scored 27 goals this season while Stoke have managed 29, making them the 4th and 6th worst attacks respectively in the English top flight
  • Both the teams’ top scorers so far this season, Georginio Wijnaldum and Marko Arnautovic have 9 goals each to their names in the Premier League

Key Battles

Shaqiri and Arnautovic vs Janmaat and Aarons

Shaqiri and Arnautovic have been forging quite a partnership in recent times and they will certainly be raring to go up against Newcastle full backs Janmaat and Aarons on Wednesday night.

Janmaat is capable of containing Shaqiri but the Swiss international’s pace could cause the Dutchman a lot of problems. On the other flank, Aarons has the pace but not the experience when he comes up against the wily Arnautovic and it will be interesting to see who will come out on top in the battle in the wide positions.

Townsend and Sissoko vs Bardsley and Pieters

On the other side of the spectrum, Newcastle possess quick wingers of their own in Andros Townsend and Moussa Sissoko and they will have to extend the game as wide as possible against the likes of Erik Pieters and Phil Bardsley, who are not the quickest around.

Giannelli Imbula vs Jack Colback

Club record signing Giannelli Imbula is already making a mark for Stoke City at the middle of the park and his arrival has certainly sparked the Potters’ recent return to form.

Imbula is capable of dictating the pace of the game if allowed and it will be very important for Jack Colbac to prevent the Frenchman from asserting his influence on the game with his usual energy at the middle of the park.

141 thoughts on “Stoke City vs Newcastle United: Match Preview

  1. Hey guys,

    New logo should be up today before the Stoke match and also still having trouble with the comment numbers – if you could bear with for now that’d be great!

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  2. I would be shocked if Aarons starts at left back. Even McClaren must realise Aarons is a winger after the Chelsea game.

    Colback and Dummett can both play left back.

    I assume Shelvey will start but Saivet, Tiote and Anita are all available alongside him giving Schteve the choice to play Colback as left back if Dummett isn’t fit.

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  3. Yes, be interesting to see how Aarons copes against Arnautovic, and Colback and Shelvey should be able to contain Imbula between them.

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  4. Eric, good point, he doesn’t have to actually put Aarons there now so will be interesting to see what he does.

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  5. Apparently Dummett is fit and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mitro up top. Still can’t see a win.

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  6. Off topic, I see Austin is out for weeks with a hammy injury, that worked out well then.

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  7. Steve is a bit desperate so I think this is the team he will play:

    Elliot

    Janmaat Taylor Lacelles Dummett

    Sissoko Tiote Shelvey Townsend

    Wijnaldum Doumbia

    He actually has a lot of choices but I wouldn’t want to confuse him. He has been changing his mind so often recently about if we should attack teams or not I think he must be confusing the players. He keeps wondering about changing systems and dropping players. They all must be completely confused as well. He can’t even decide on a captain, well , at least say who the Captain is. I don’t know why he would be keeping it a secret from Stoke?

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  8. Results yet again going for us on the whole; Have to make this count

    We have the best squad out of the sides down the bottom, The best run in & now two games in hand

    No excuses Schteve

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  9. Andy and Nick – definitely need to do something about the overly long line length! The eye has too far to travel from one line to the next especially in the main text. The eye is constantly having hiccups. It’s not a killer but readability and legibility are an essential part of presenting any text. Think novels and their line length for a comfortable read. Even further off topic!

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  10. ———————Elliott————————
    –Janmaat–Taylor–Lascelles–Dumett–
    ———————-Tiote————————
    ———-Shelvey——Wijnaldum————
    —Sissoko———————–Townsend—-
    ——————–Mitrovic————————

    Subs: Darlow, Anita, Colback, Aarons, De Jong, Perez, Cisse

    Ridiculously good options off the bench

    As I said no excuses Stevey

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  11. I mean, Schteve is giving so many mixed messages in the press I don’t know if we are coming or going. Perhaps it is a cunning plan to confuse Stoke? Like one of Baldrick’s cunning plans.

    I also don’t know why he didn’t attend the Fan Forum. Bottled it? What, did he have a more pressing engagement? Were they still in Spain? It is just a bit strange that they had this planned for ages and the most important person at the Club doesn’t turn up.

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  12. CC: I could see Schteve picking that team and subs. You would think that he might include Saivet and Doumbia at least as subs. If they were bought/loaned to get us out of this mess then at least give it a go?

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  13. @Georgio – thanks for the feedback. So you think shortening the distance between the beginning of the line and the end of the line would help?

    What’s everyone’s thoughts on the new logo?

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  14. Has everybody been reading what Schteve is saying to the press? It all sounds very confused. Like he doesn’t have a plan. Epitomised by his wishy-washyness on the Captain situation.

    Perhaps that is why he is head coach and not a Manager. A Manager would actually make decisions? Perhaps we should hire an actual Manager?

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  15. Hoping for a win tonight. The time for experimenting is over.. keep any development players on the bench and go with experience ( except Mitro). Aarons should be a no go for me, we cant have players that are still learning to have an impact at this stage of the season. We have a number of seasoned pros, its on them, perform or fuken else! 😈

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  16. My problem with going with the same old, same old is that they are the ones that got us into this mess. Or was it Steve, or both? He has talked a lot about changing things this week but he will probably settle for the defensive changes that are forced on him (Aarons excepted, who is not a left back).

    I think McClaren has difficulty making decisions until he is desperate. He made 2 strange moves recently taking off Saivet when he was having a good game and then Wijnaldum at half time at Chelsea when he is our main scoring threat.

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  17. McClaren has bottled it of late… I thought he was making ground as the season progressed and our style of play was better but he has blinked and is now looking desperate. … some of his decision making is ‘throwing **** at a wall to see what sticks’…

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  18. Quoted in Reuters today:

    “We see fantastic performances from individuals one week and we look capable of beating anyone, then the next week it’s the polar opposite and we can lose by five or six goals,” McClaren told reporters on Tuesday.

    “That inconsistency is a character flaw we have got to put right. We’ve scored seven goals away, that’s the lowest number in the league and it’s not good enough. We have to start demonstrating character away from home. It’s about having courage.”

    Maybe we should hire a motivational guru to help with these character issues. I have heard great things about some guy who used to work with Jonny Wilkinson. Do’h.

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  19. 3 away wins for tonight…

    newcastle – spurs – man city.

    a small investment of £10 should return approximatley £200 – get ya money on!

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  20. 7 away goals is not only the lowest in the PL but the whole football league. Something is wrong because we have a team full of Internationals. Even Taylor and Colback were in the England squad (although they didn’t play).

    These are not journeymen. They are highly rated. It can’t be a character flaw in the whole team. Should Schteve be looking in the mirror for what is wrong? As AMF said we have played some decent stuff sometimes and then it all goes t!ts up again. The coaches should be taking some of the blame but it seems that Schteve is abdicating all responsibility. Is he a weak leader?

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  21. Roy: you know we have to actually score a goal to win? I will go with it though, 1-0 to us.

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  22. Andy – yes definitely a shorter line length gives a quicker easier read. This is something I’ve studied and taught as a designer. Very much like the logo!

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  23. Eric – good points mate. Seems like Steve doesn’t have a mirror. No I don’t mean the hair but playing Aarons as a LB was asking for trouble. Among many other things like not dropping Sissoko after wimpy performances.

    Also don’t see the point of letting the tenacious and promising Kemen go and spending £5m on a replacement who he doesn’t seem to rate.

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  24. My post comment box isn’t showing either, it’s only cause I know where it is and then it shows up when I hover over it. Not idea for newbies visiting the site though.

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  25. dont know whats gone wrong but cannot comment from my tablet now,theres no “post”symbol after comments box,had to get on mrs laptop,(shes not happy)
    Townsend a doubt for tonight (hamstring)

    KIM aye saw that about Austin,one goal in four games wouldnt have been a help for us

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  26. Now, let’s see who have been extremely successful in their careers and who hasn’t? Just about all of our players have been very good, until they signed for us. Schteve, on the other hand, has had one good season as Manager at Twente and failed at every other club and for England. I suppose you could say he would get a C+ at Boro? But they hated him there and they had some bloody good players.

    Of course, he did spectacularly well in 1999 with Man United AS A COACH. But he had the best Manager of the last 30 years to guide him and the Class of ’92 weren’t that bad. I think a duck could have coached Man U and won under those circumstances. Maybe, as they all say, he is a good coach but he might not be cut out for Management. His body language if we go a goal down certainly doesn’t inspire confidence. Nor, does running down the tunnel in our last game after we went down a goal after 5 minutes.

    So, he is failing and he seems to have the players. He has dragged around a bunch of serial losers like Black and Simpson and cannot see the problem.

    I know somebody will say I am moaning about a manager and be careful what you wished for but we have been losing for 3 years and have just spent 80 million pounds to upgrade these players WHO ALL HAVE supposed “character flaws”.

    Therefore with 7 away points and 7 away goals I think I will have to give Schteve a D minus so far. Let’s hope he turns it around.

    Still, I am going for a 1-0 win for us tonight 🙂 Against my better judgement.

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  27. Ice, Don’t know how it works with phone but my post comment box is there but you can’t see it 😉 I just hover over it and it shows up then I post if that makes sense.

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  28. Icedog: Townsend is here 2 weeks and gets the NUFC curse 🙂 YCMIU. I really don’t want to be negative but the past few years have been a bit of a joke, on the pitch and from the Managers’ gobs. Schteve hasn’t quite hit the lows of Ugly John’s rants but he is trying hard to achieve that unenviable distinction.

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  29. Teething probs, sure it’ll all get sorted in time. As long as I can rejoice/ vent my spleen tonight I’m cool.

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  30. It really is getting beyond a joke now, our hammy injuries. What on earth are they doing on a fitness level to amass so many 😕

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  31. Kimtoon: I was reading another blog earlier where Arsenal fans were laughing about their injury situation and saying when the staff say 3 weeks you can be sure it will be 3 months. They have a team of sick notes comparable to Taylor and Haidara, ONLY BETTER. Cazorla, Welbeck, Wilshere, Arteta, Rosicky. I think they must be buying the training pitches from the same company as us, We-Crock-Em, PLC?

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  32. And Eric is spot on. To only have scored 7 goals away from home all season is just unacceptable. That has to be down to the coach, his tactics and instructions.

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  33. Eric, it’s a joke our injuries, ok Arsenal have it too, but we have this every season and we are consistently top of the injury league every year I think 😕

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  34. Now Cissie is out too,(hamstring ) ffs,still haven’t got my “post”symbol just as well the Mrs is out

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  35. KIM,yes he’s trained for a week (so they say) or is this a ploy by our clever manager to throw other managers tactics off,nah he’s not that clever

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  36. I am surprised Steven Taylor’s playing tonight. I thought he would be recovering from jet lag.

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  37. Can we also have a bit at the bottom of the comments saying there’s another thread up, I was all alone there, and a little bit frightened to be honest 😥

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  38. Stuart if Ashley put 200 million pounds on that bet he would be and it paid off he would make a fortune

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  39. does anyone really expect a win tonight? theres as much chance as us signing berahino in the next window

    So basically in the last window, we replaced Thauvin with Townsend, Shelvey for Cabaye and we put in a pretendy bid for berahino to keep the fans happy… but ended up with a loan player…

    hes not daft mike, unless we’re relegated.

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  40. Our away form has not been good enough,” McClaren told nufc.co.uk. “We have to start demonstrating the character needed to win these away games.

    “It’s a character flaw that we need to put right. Too many times things have gone against us away from home and we haven’t reacted well and that’s why we’ve lost.”

    how many home games have we won? 4? beaten by the likes of Watford, Sheff W, Leicester, drew v Stoke, villa etc.. aye Steve, its just our away form that needs improving

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  41. It’s not like we’ll miss Cisse Ice. He’s been missing for 3 seasons now.
    Townsend’s a different matter. He looked like he really wanted it and definitely made a difference. Shame but he’ll play on Sat when we lose to Bournemouth (did I really say that?). They now look like a decent team and we don’t. Without realising it I think I’ve lost hope!

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  42. Good read and nice logo , but I like Richie was stuck refreshing on the last thread as there is no new thread shortcut to tell you there is a new article up.

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  43. As for tonights game it will be interesting too see what a diference a new captain will make , i think if its shelvey we will see a much more agressive attacking mentality from the team . He does seem too coach others ,it was noticable from his first game .Hope Dummett is fit too start at Lb and Aarons can be moved too his best position with Townsend apparently a doubt.

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  44. Interesting that Adam Johnson has been found not guilty of sexual activity with a child. I am sure that will upset a few of the more judgmental on here as they wanted him hung, drawn and quartered.

    He will no doubt get another club after he has paid his dues to society for the kissing and texting her. Rightly or wrongly – players have done worse and got back into football. Reckon he can kiss goodbye to his high wages though..

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  45. Stu, when it’s one word against another without definitive proof I don’t see what other way a jury could vote tbh. What is clear is that he’s been up to no good with her you only have to look at the text messages to see that. Still a vile individual imo. I take it you are pleased it got off then?, least that’s how your post comes across.

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  46. Kim – I am pleased with the judicial system in this country that can have trials like this where the jury hears all the evidence and makes a decision. He was found not guilty on one of the accounts of sexual activity with a child so we need to assume he didn’t do it.

    He still texted her and kissed her, he pleaded guilty to that and will face the consequences.

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  47. And I’m not sure how you can assume I am pleased he got off either. Getting off as you put it would assume he did it and didn’t get found guilty. That’s a terrible way to look at things imo.

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  48. Guilty of the other offence so I doubt he will get a way back into football now but bleeding Greame Rix did so who bloody knows these days.

    Hope he gets a good sentence. Reckon 3 years personally.

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  49. I think i will have to send Ed Harrison some valium. He has been belting out about 5 articles a day each more critical than the last. Not about the players though, just Management. The players have to take some responsibility though, just like they receive the plaudits when we play well.

    I am trying not to get too disheartened but that Chelsea performance knocked the stuffing out of me. I didn’t even watch the second half.

    Schteve is right that we should be doing better but he has that Carver air about him now. That he thinks it is everybody’s fault but his and at the same time he is all over the place with his solutions. First it was that we should attack and now he says maybe we should play for more draws away from home. I think we have had 1 draw in 13 away.

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  50. Stu, I can’t believe you actually think he didn’t do more than that. but as I said without definitive proof jury had no choice. What we did learn is that he is a liar and as such is liable to lie about anything. I obviously got the tone of your post wrong, I apologise .

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  51. Stu, By the way folk get away with bad things all the time, that’s what happens when you have the money to buy top counsel. It’s not a’ terrible way to look at things’, more a realistic view point. Just as non guilty people are hung out to dry from time to time too.

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  52. Eric, Steve has lost the plot big time, as you know I backed him for quite a while as in fairness we did look good here and there. These last few weeks we haven’t even looked good let alone won. The blame has to be laid at his and the coaches door but the players need a good look in the mirror too as does Lee , Carr and even Jabba. For all he has spent, it’s the lack of previous investment and ambition that has let us become stale and fall away from the pack as it were.

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  53. and tonight’s excuses, are…… “we are a bit rusty after not having played for 18 days”, “We took a while to get up to speed after the break”, “we didn’t have many options in defence”…

    on Saturday, it will be “we were tired after the midweek game coming so close to today”, “we had a long journey back midweek”.. “we are missing some of our players who were injured midweek”

    too many games, too few games, too many injuries, not a big enough squad… its all too boring now…

    how about “we are not good enough for the jobs we are well paid to do”

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  54. Very disappointing to see Sunderland actually allowed him to continue to play and help them stay up even after they knew he had admitted to two of the accounts. Questions to answer there.

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  55. Stu, yes it also didn’t help the girl in question who got dogs abuse from the fans because they all believed he was innocent. Bad move by the club and player.

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  56. Kimtoon: it has only been 1 game since we won against WBA, although admittedly in a very bad season coming after the Carver disaster and the anti-football that Pardew played a lot of the time. It just seems so much longer with this gap and because we were so bad against Chelsea. The job is probably too big for him as he did the same in the England job. I don’t think he is bad Guy but he just doesn’t seem to have the answers.

    I was also willing to give him a chance to start with because contrary to what some may think I am not anti NUFC managers. My preference would be for him to turn it around but failing that I would like to see us get hammered so that the the “brain trust” have no choice but to appoint someone else. So, either no more losses or big enough losses to force their hand. A 1-0 loss to Stoke would be the worst of all worlds, just letting Lee and Graham stick with the status quo.

    McClaren doesn’t even particularly annoy me, unlike the last 2 self declared football geniuses. His daft grin doesn’t even bother me 🙂 It is not like it is a smirk, more a nervous reaction.

    I gave a list of about a dozen qualified and available managers the other day so there is no excuse.

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  57. Stuart: I think they will sack the Sunderland official who knew about Johnson’s sexual activity with a minor and didn’t terminate his contract. Even if she thought the club would be sued she still made a massive error in judgement. They will probably wait a couple of months and then give her a nice severage package.

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  58. Kev, Pards, Carver and Mac all suffer from excuse-itus , it’s a terrible affliction caused by exposure to press conferences and television cameras. There is only one cure, it’s called a reality check.

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  59. Eric, the grin doesn’t get to me much either, as you say I think it’s a nervous thing. I do believe the little Island on his head will be falling off soon though, what with the stress and no brolly to protect it like.

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  60. The judge said the sentence could be up to 10 years but would not be less than 5. What an idiot, he has wrecked his life for the sake of 10 minutes of fumbling around in the front seat of his car.

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  61. Is anybody going to go out on a limb with a prediction? I said 1-0 to us.

    Let’s see what faith there is on here. I think Ed has had about 4000 votes with a majority going for a loss and only about 25% a win. It shows that for all the moaning I have done I am not that out of sync with the rest of the fans.

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