As we all know; Matt Ritchie was out of yesterday’s win over Cardiff. The Scotland star missed the game through suspension but his absence from the starting line-up was not missed.
On many occasions this season Ritchie has been hailed as Newcastle’s star player and has even sometimes been referred to as the best player in the Championship.
However, it should be said that whenever Christian Atsu has taken Ritchie’s place in the first team, he has looked no worse than fans favourite, Ritchie.
Atsu plays the game very differently to Ritchie. Where Ritchie will often slow the game down to play a killer pass or deliver a cross, Atsu usually likes to play the game at a high pace and with plenty of intensity. Again, though, it should be noted that the Ghanaian is more than capable of slowing the game down when needed.
Atsu impressed again against Cardiff and Ritchie may find his place in the side in more jeopardy from now on and in the week when Florian Thauvin was sold to Marseilles, Atsu made his case for a permanent transfer.
Jake. I have to disagree with your assessment of Atsu. Yes he scored a very good goal and yes he was lively in the first half but in the second half he frequently gave away the ball in dangerous positions. It could be that he is not yet physically strong enough for 90 minutes. However I don’t see him as threatening Ritchie’s place. A reasonable squad player but I am not yet sure he is worth buying. Hope I’m wrong! Having said that the whole team deserves praise for the way they played.
Groucho(Quote)
Atsu has looked impressive but it’s still Ritchie for me, he’s overall, been our best player this season so far.
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
I cannot really comment on how Atsu is playing as again I had to rely on radio coverage. He will be off to The African Cup of Nations for 5 weeks soon.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I told everyone that all that had to be done was say the word PARDEW and Troy would appear (Like saying Shazam in the old comic book).
I think the blog super hero has forgotten the absolutely **** football Pards had us playing. The way we would sit back for the first 20 minutes of every game, even against the likes of Wigan. Do you remember that game where the mighty Wigan were ahead 4-0 at half time or Spurs also being ahead by 4 after about half an hour? It was down to Pardew’s tactics because it happened so often it could just not be down to bad luck. You can’t tell me Pulis always had/has better players than NUFC and yet his teams don’t capitulate every other week. He set up not to lose just like Pards did but he actually knows what he is doing and doesn’t just talk a good game. I wouldn’t want Pulis either, but that’s besides the point.
Oh and the hoof it to Williamson at the edge of the box on every free kick routine. We tried it every week and it never worked but we did it anyway. Every opposition manager knew what was coming and set up for it.
Do you remember the constant passing of the buck and excuses? He was happy to take all the credit when things went right and pass on the blame whenever they didn’t. I think he once blamed the crowd for cheering too much!!!
Is that me biting? I don’t care!!! I just really did not like Pardew, never mind his bad football and tactics.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, is that me biting, I think Troy needs to answer that one. He’s got three on the line at the moment ?. Don’t expect any sensible football related comments though ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
Hully Gullys beating the Saints. Didn’t see that one coming. Goona be a tough quarter final
Munich Mag(Quote)
so happy for the ex-mags, Janmaat scores to bring the score back to 1-5, then Wijnaldum drives the final nail in the coffin with goal number 6 in a 6-1 win. Legends.
Munich Mag(Quote)
The blog is dead, long live the blog 🙁
Munich Mag(Quote)
I have a stats analysis on Atsu vs Ritchie and Gouffran. In some offensive stats Atsu is marginally more productive, but not by a lot. However, his big weakness is that he does effectively nothing defensively and is miles away from being the sort of team player Ritchie and Gouffy are. He is a long way from challenging Ritchie for his starting position in my view.
Shamrock(Quote)
Sham, thanks for the stats. The headline on this post made me blink tbh..
Munich Mag(Quote)
Also, Atsu makes defensive errors whereas Ritchie and Gouffy have made none. He is raw and a little naive. Once Rafa has had time to work on his defensive side, perhaps he will be a good player but in the meantime there are a few questions to be asked of him that we don’t need to ask about our other 2 wingers such as;
1) Does he have a team working mentality?
2) Is he physically capable of running the length of the whole pitch throughout the game instead of just the attacking third?
3) is he even intelligent enough and physically capable of tracking back?
4) Would he still have decent attacking stats once he did start chipping in defensively? Or is he just a one trick pony?
If he is just a one trick pony, then we either have to buy a top of the range full back to make up for his lack of help, or he will remain a squad player and not a regular starter.
Shamrock(Quote)
Sham: maybe we should play Anita to give Atsu some support. I doubt if he will replace Ritchie who absolutely tore up this league when he played for Bournemouth. He is still settling in as well, he only moved to Newcastle 4 months ago. I don’t know what everybody else thinks but it always takes a few months to settle in a new City and new job.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
MM: the reason I bring up Pards and “bite” according to Troy is that I do not like the silver pox. I find it funny that Troy still defends him. He is proving once again that he goes on these death spirals and that his players eventually tune him out. I agree that he has some decent players now, that is probably what is sad for Palace fans because they are playing down to Pards’ level.
The Troysta always likes to point out that Pards saved Palace, but you have to remember he took over from Warnock who has a history of never succeeding in the PL. Pards did well to start with, I admit that but then he did what he always has and turned good players into an image of himself – average cloggers.
Troy is not always wrong but he is on Pardew 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I am not sure if I will be able to stand the excitement of the International Break. I don’t want England to lose but a draw against Scotland would be good. A loss against Spain in an otherwise meaningless friendly might help to keep Coleman out of the job. You cannot underestimate the incompetence of the FA though. What has Coleman ever done to deserve the job? Got Boro relegated. Went out in the group stage of the U21 Euros. How is he even in the running?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric Ritchie has not been here long either. Players need a settling in period but that’s not going to change his natural instincts, which evidently do not involve wider team work. I think he has started reasonably well and he may make a decent squad player, but jury will remain out for me until I have seen more. The PL is a big step up and whilst I’m 100% confident Ritchie can handle the PL, I’m only about 30% confident that Atsu can at this stage.
Shamrock(Quote)
Southgate mate. Coleman is the bloke in charge of Wales.
Shamrock(Quote)
Should we give Gouffy and Anita new contracts? Probably not for Gouffy as I do not think he is good enough for the PL. I think Anita as right back is worth a 3 year deal as he wasn’t good enough in midfield but finally seems to have found his position. Having him and Yedlin wouldn’t be the worst option in the PL.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, I trust you mean Southgate ?
Regarding England, there are only so many Englishmen to go round, and they are all useless. It stands to reason that Pardew will be the next one up, he’s one of the only ones left…that’s why the media are not getting piled into him…oh and that lad at Bournemouth is in the frame I would imagine..
Now Pardew, when he was in charge of those Jawdeees, they really did hound him out after he did a brilliant job… deluded them lot..
Now Palace, from being really a perennial nothing club, have a gazzillionaire owner, the supporters are getting all uppity and above there station. It makes me laugh, they’d struggle to get 25 thousand playing in the Champions League, now they are giving it large !… and with a Palace legend too in charge …strange innit ? who next, Don Bowles ?…Steve Coppell ?
Munich Mag(Quote)
Cheers Sham. I was getting so happy and worked up about the coming games that I forgot who the England manager was 🙂 I knew his record though 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Sham, I reckon we have at the most 6-8 Premier League players…
name them ….. 🙂
Munich Mag(Quote)
I’m loving the responses here! I’m a huge Atsu fan, the way he plays is so care free and great to watch. Eric, I would give Gouff and Vurn new deals too, one year for Gouff and two for Anita!
Jake Swinburn(Quote)
I know I have gone on about the Chicago Cubs a few times but I live in a city that has as crazy fans as NUFC. Here is an amazing stat. They had a parade for them on Friday and it was the 7th largest gathering in human history. 5 Million people. Here is a link if you don’t believe me.
http://www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/215601786-story
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Jake: glad you didn’t get offended by my **** stirring with you. Keep the articles coming.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Gayle, Shelvey, Hayden, Ritchie, Anita, Lascelles, Yedlin, Elliott, – they are the players I have no doubt can do their job in the PL as regular starters.
Mitro, Perez, Colback, Diame, Gouffy, Mbemba, Clarke, Dummett, Darlow all good PL standard squad players for me.
Jury out on Aaron’s, Atsu, Armstrong, the new left back, Selz, the new striker, the Scottish defender.
Shamrock(Quote)
I’d be happy enough with that.
Shamrock(Quote)
Ritchie for me at the moment. Does it all, where as Atsu is good getting forward but a bit naive tracking back from what little I have seen. A player needs more than pace and if he doesn’t then when that pace is lost either through injuries or time he is no use to the team. Now if you have a good coach he can extend the career of a player who has lost his pace so long as he has other attributes. Look how Sir Bob revitalised Big Al’s career after he’d lost his pace, often pointed out by Big Al himself.
Anita must stay and Goofy too imo, hardworking players both, gonna need that ethic as well as skill when/if we return to PL.
Thanks Jake, good read
kimtoon(Quote)
Ritchie still well ahead for me mind Jake. But he has had the benefit of playing regular football with Bmouth before joining us, so had that experience & development already.
Atsu is very good & I really hope we make the switch permanent coz I only see him getting better under Rafa.
Both Anita & Gouffran have flourished under Rafa and I would say Anita certainly has done enough for a new contract. I don’t see giving Gouffran another year being much of a risk or loss so yeah he can stay too. But I would want an upgrade in that position for the PL personally.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Yes definitely Sharpy. Gouffy would be good back up but we would need more of a cutting edge on the left week in, week out.
Shamrock(Quote)
Richie for me too. Ticks every box for a winger. Atsu looks raw atm but looks a decent prospect. He needs games and experience
Janmatt had a nightmare today at Watford. Half hearted effort for pools first 3 goals. He only played due to an injury. Got a goal to gloss over his poor performance
Gashley(Quote)
* @liverpool
Gashley(Quote)
Gash: our summer transfers aren’t doing that well are they:
Sissoko suspended and was utterly **** in Midweek.
What you said about Janmaat. If he is 2nd choice at Watford…
Gini not starting.
And Pardew Pardewing Townsend.
That is 74 million quid FFS.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Goofy looked good when he first arrived but went off the boil rapidly he is revitalised under Rafa and so was Townsend who I can see faltering again under Pardew.
kimtoon(Quote)
OK, so here are some quotes from Football365 a widely read website that has been around for more than 10 years. This is from a neutral, Daniel Storey, about Pards. He doesn’t support NUFC or Palace. I think he is pointing out the bleeding obvious, but he could have also added some things like Pards played Hayden Mullins over Tevez, sent Hatem ben Arfa to train with the reserves, tried that Williamson corner routine 1,252,874 times without success and plays an almost unique brand of souless football about 2 in every 3 games if he wanted to be really nasty. He writes:
“Patience is treasured as one of football’s rarest currencies, and there is certainly a shortage. The lifespan of a manager has never been more brief and nor too has the capacity of supporters to accept failure. That’s a direct result of clubs charging more for their tickets. You pay more, you want more; football exists in a consumer society.
Yet even those who tut and frown about managers being sacked after four or 14 months must accept that patience should be a luxury, not a right. Affording too much can be just as damaging as affording too little. At Palace, Alan Pardew might be running out of his.
Pardew’s tendency to fall in and out of runs of form is unique in the Premier League, not least because his trend is now so established. At Newcastle in 2013, a run of 22 points from a possible 27 was immediately followed by four points from a possible 24. Between March and October 2014, Pardew’s Newcastle took seven points from 15 league games, before winning five on the spin.
After moving to Selhurst Park in January 2015, Pardew gave supporters a taster of his rollercoaster form by immediately succeeding a run of four league wins with four defeats. His tendency to allow misery to temper optimism suggests a personality guilty of getting caught up in his own hype. Managers can be affected by complacency just as readily as their players.
The worry for Pardew is that the highs are becoming briefer and the lows more pronounced. When Palace won three straight league games in September, their manager spoke of being linked to the England job. He picked his time well; that run represents 60% of Palace’s league wins since December 19, 2015.
It’s an incredible funk given the money Palace spent this summer. Their front six is as good as anything outside the top seven or eight, and yet has made a negligible difference to the club’s fortunes. In their 32 league games since beating Stoke City on that December afternoon, Palace have taken 24 points and lost 56% of their league games.
Judging clubs and managers by arbitrary time periods is liable to wind up a percentage of your readership, but this is actually anything but. That victory over Stoke came the day after a £50m investment from Americans Josh Harris and David Blitzer was confirmed. ‘The deal offered the club the best opportunity to build on the enormous progress made over the last five years,’ as Palace’s own statement read. What must they make of this run?
Against Burnley, Palace managed a new feat of losing the game not once, but twice. A woeful first half saw them 2-0 down at the break, but a spirited fightback was ruined by Ashley Barnes’ late, late winner. Sean Dyche’s team moved ahead of Pardew’s in the table heading into the international break. They could go as low as 16th.
“Sometimes the Premier League fixture list makes it very difficult; I like to think the fans understand,” Pardew said in his pre-match press conference. “The players are a great group to work with they give me everything they’ve got. We’ve just fallen short in the last couple of games but there is no concern on my part.” It’s the 30 league games before that some supporters are struggling with.”
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, You would have to say that’s a fair summary mate. As you say he’s neutral with no axe to grind, of course he’s stating the bleeding obvious to anyone who follows football. Quite why Pardew has gotten such an easy ride up till now with the wider press is a mystery, there is no way foreign managers are given such an easy ride that’s for sure. As he points out he has an exceptional set of players at his disposal now and really ought to be doing better. To be fair they have looked quite good going forward in spells but they make silly mistakes and errors at the back and at times look very nervy when defending, maybe this is because they can be guilty of sitting back for too long, oh wait where have we seen that before………………….
kimtoon(Quote)
Personally I honestly couldn’t give a ***** about Pardew one way or another now.
On an international note, how the hell has Whilshire got a call up?. The kid isn’t even playing well at Bmouth – Englishman Harry Arter is showing him up there!!.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Is it not a bit small time for us as fans to still be discussing one of our ex-managers so vehemently?
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
i bet Shelvey isnt happy Whilshire got in before him,same old same old England hate these breaks to watch ****
icedog(Quote)
Possibly mate, but it keeps the blog alive to a point, what with the international break and everything being the death nail to blogs.
kimtoon(Quote)
morning all,
well theres nothing wrong with your club at this time.
Rafa as always,knows what hes doing.
re your old managers,we frequently talk about ours as well.dont know why,the past is the past.
at least we are grinding some results out.still scrappy at times,
but beggars canr be choosers. 😉
a villa fan(Quote)
We talk about Fat Sam too and ex players for that matter, is that a problem too Andy ?
kimtoon(Quote)
Villa, bet you are happier now mate, Steve starting to turn it around you reckon ?
kimtoon(Quote)
mate,
i am far happier than i was 4 weeks ago. 🙂
a villa fan(Quote)
Villa, you are right ,every fan base chats/slags off ex managers and players, it’s just how it is.
kimtoon(Quote)
I’ll bet, might make the playoffs yet .
kimtoon(Quote)
Ice, I don’t get the Wilshire love in at all mate.
kimtoon(Quote)
still a tall order for me mate,
but you never know.
id rather be sitting where you are in the league though. 😉
a villa fan(Quote)
Yep I can imagine mate. Keep the faith anyway, you never know .
kimtoon(Quote)
thought the blog was all things football,we love the toon but we are not blind to things going on in the football game in general,its always nice to also know how other bloggers are facing up to the ruggers of life and give support where we can,a kind word even can go a long way or am i soft in the head
icedog(Quote)
Ice, spot on mate, football doesn’t start and end with the Toon, though sometimes it can feel like it 😀
kimtoon(Quote)
Kimtoon/Ice: the press always fall in love with certain players and the managers are influenced by that no matter how often they deny it. When I was growing up there was a love in for Butch Wilkins and he always seemed to make the England team. I could never figure it out as he always seemed to slow the game down to me and never saw a sideways pass he didn’t like.
Wilshere is always coming back from injury so I can never work out whether he is any good or not. Whenever I watch him he seems to be very good at pointing.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
never rated the lad,to me he also appears to be jack the lad type of bloke,hasnt really played a lot of games to judge him 100% but not England class by a long way,then again there is not many in the team that are imo
icedog(Quote)
Villa still have a shot at promotion. They are only 5 points off the playoff spots and will definitely spend again for the simple reason that the parachute payments give the relegated clubs a massive advantage. I think they all get over 100 million over 3 or 4 seasons. I checked on a couple of the recently relegated clubs and it is interesting to compare their turnover last year to some other Championship clubs:
Cardiff 80 million
Hull 88 million
and some who haven’t been in the PL
Brentford 3.3 million
Bristol C 6.1 million
Brighton 24 million
Boro 13 million
It is almost as if you would have to be stupid NOT to get promoted in a season or 2 given the massive money advantage. That and Rafa is why I thought we would walk this league and if we were not ahead by January we could buy our way into the playoffs given our comparative financial muscle. Especially since we have sold 90-100 million worth of players if you include Thavin and Cabella.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
eric sykes,
mate,
am i correct when i say that,if promoted,any of last seasons relegated club,doesnt get a payment this season.
i could be wrong,but that is what i have heard.
a villa fan(Quote)
if this kid has a football brain he might be a canny player
http://www.themag.co.uk/2016/11/must-see-newcastles-yasin-ben-el-mhanni-showcases-dribbling-skills-new-video-newcastle-united/?
icedog(Quote)
So, Rafa’s salary is more than Brentford’s turnover. This is why I didn’t get some people say it might be a struggle this year. Even the 3 games we have lost the margins were very tight and we could easily have won or drawn them. Most on here thought we would do it but warned not to get complacent and said it would be tougher than you might assume.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Villa: I am pretty sure you get the money for when you are in the Championship but they stop when you are promoted because you then get back on the PL gravy train which is 100 million plus even for the bottom club.
I had a look at it before the season and it is 40 odd million in parachute payments this year and 35 million next. That’s part of the reason NUFC, Villa and Norwich have a massive advantage.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
eric sykes,
yes you are correct mate,i have just looked it up.
if promoted,you still get £40 mill.
a villa fan(Quote)
Since it is international week I will make a comment on someone being touted as a potential England Manager 🙂 Palace have now taken 24 points from their last 32 league games. That’s eight worse than Sunderland and Watford. Southgate may be a blessing if this is his nearest competitor!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Villa: I was watching one of your games the other day and saw Agbonlahor back in the fold. I thought he had basically gone on strike and burned his bridges?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
eric,
mate,
re agoalayear.
hes been on strike for about 6 years.and should never play for the villa again.
16 games into the season,and hes still not match fit.
and yet,some of our fans still love him,why,because he claims to be villa through and through.
so would i,if somebody gave me £60 grand a week,to go out shagging and partying. 😉
a villa fan(Quote)
if Bruce carries on the way he has started.
it would just be our luck that England may come sniffing.
re these international breaks,do you all find them as irritating as we do.
a villa fan(Quote)
Ice – I’m gonna sound like a right old fart here, but kids now are all too keen to develop these little tricks. They see the likes of Neymar and Payet showboating and want to copy it – but ask them to take a decent corner, or pass the ball accurately or time a tackle – you know, the bread and butter stuff and football becomes far more difficult.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Villa: quite a few have mentioned on here that the international breaks are where blogs go to die. However, I will point out a couple of fun facts:
Spain are ranked 10 by FIFA and England 12. How is that possible? When we play them I expect the score might be close but the gulf in quality to still be very apparent. Beating up on **** teams in the easiest World Cup qualifying group ever will probably push England above Spain in the rankings soon.
Scotland are ranked 57 in the world so that should be a walk in the park. I expect a draw then. I am so disillusioned with the National team I might decide to root for Matt Ritchie to score.
Argentina play Brazil so that might be worthwhile. Messi, Neymar, Higuin and Aguero are all fit so we might be in for a cracker. Or we can watch a meaningless friendly 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
yep, pain in the ****
kimtoon(Quote)
your quite right that why i say “if”he has a football brain,Neymar sent for him to learn a few tricks be nice if Neymar showed him how to play the game,anyway he seems to be doing ok at the moment at the toon
icedog(Quote)
used to love watching England but it just gets on my nerves now. Team has very few world class players and then there’s the ones who celebrate like they won the WC when they score against minnows. 🙄 it just feels like a waste of energy bothering to cheer them on when I don’t even like half of them or rate them as players.
kimtoon(Quote)
i stopped watching England years ago.
always a false promise,over hyped beyond expectation.
and when it comes to a tournament,we are lucky to have one good performance.
a bit like watching the villa these last few years.
but,at least the villa have started to turn a very long corner.
a villa fan(Quote)
If the international break did not already fill you with glee, here are the latest Sky bet odds for England Manager:
Southgate 1/2. Sacked by the Boro, failed to get out of Euro U21 group.
Mancini 4/1 Last seen being Mutual Consented by Inter.
Wenger 7/1 Has said he doesn’t want the job.
Ralf Rangnick 12/1 Who he? Munich Mag might know. Currently DoF at Leipsig who were just promoted to the Bundesliga.
Glen Hoddle 14/1 Sure the UK disabled population will appreciate this one.
Alan Pardew 25/1
Luckily, Rafa is not on the list. I think he might be overqualified 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I gave up after the South Africa debacle. I bought a 50 inch TV and had a party. I live in Chicago and was looking forward to showing my friends our National game. I had to explain to the Yanks that England were usually better than the way they played against the US. I was wrong, because, and then there was Iceland….
Eric Sykes(Quote)
ERIC ime starting to think that it does not really matter who is England manager is they pick the same over-rated and past it players whats the point,wonder if Terry Venables is still knocking about,you missed him off your list 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
Fair play, I had international break amnesia then and forgot we wouldn’t be playing this weekend.
This sums it up perfectly:
https://twitter.com/paddypower/status/784728758414630912
Andy The Magpie(Quote)
Ice: those were actual current odds from Sky Bet. I don’t think Venables was on their list. Is he even still on TV? You might be right about the job though, that it doesn’t really matter who does it. You can’t tell me that Sterling, Kane, Rose etc. are not better than Iceland’s players so it has to have something to do with desire or coaching.
With England in such a watered down group it just makes it boring watching them labour even against **** teams. The South American qualifiers are much different. As well as Brazil against Argentina there is Colombia against Chile this week. Much more passionate and far better football.
In the current Scotland squad I can probably only name Hanley and Ritchie as they play for us. Seriously, that’s about it. It is so different to the days they had the likes of Bremner, Sounness, Hansen and Dalglish.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Here is the Scotland squad. It is surprising how so few play for top teams although there are one or two like Ritchie and Snodgrass who are decent:
Gordon (Celtic), Hamilton (Hearts), Marshall (Hull)
Berra (Ipswich), Greer (Blackburn), Hanley (Newcastle), Kingsley (Swansea), R Martin (Norwich), Paterson (Hearts), Wallace (Rangers)
Anya (Derby), Bannan (Sheffield Wednesday), Brown (Celtic), Burke (Leipzig), D Fletcher (West Brom), Forrest (Celtic), McArthur (Crystal Palace), McGinn (Hibernian), Morrison (West Brom), Ritchie (Newcastle), Snodgrass (Hull)
S Fletcher (Sheffield Wednesday), Griffiths (Celtic), C Martin (Derby), Naismith (Norwich)
Eric Sykes(Quote)
i love to watch The South American qualifiers you see some great talent
icedog(Quote)
England have a very easy group. There’s nothing to be proud of beating some small minnow country who in all fairness don’t have the player’s, money or resource’s even to compete against them but they hype themselves up to be something there not. There games bore me these day’s. International football seem’s like punishment because it gets in the way of the championship season. Southgate will get the job, all he has to do is beat 4 minnow team’s. It’s bullshit. When the world cup starts same old ****. England aren’t good attacking example’s being Uruguay, Iceland and even against Malta in the second half.
Stem(Quote)