Rafa Benitez and his Newcastle United side travel to Blackburn Rovers today, with the hope and expectation of bringing back three points and maintaining their title hopes.
However, as Owen Coyle’s side proved last time that they met the Magpies, Blackburn will be no pushovers.
Newcastle will have to be on their game if they are to get anything from the game.
In the build up to this game, the debate about Jonjo Shelvey has died down a little bit, but no doubt waits to resurface as soon as the side has another negative result.
One argument that won’t go away though, is whether Jack Colback and Isaac Hayden compliment each other. Many fans think not, feeling that the side may need someone who can think forward more often, when in possession of the ball.
Someone who is good on the ball, is Vurnon Anita. Someone who has another fan favourite, in DeAndre Yedlin, competing for his position.
So, why not kill two birds with one stone? Anita in midfield? Obviously the manager knows far better and works with them every day in training, but could it be food for thought?
Stu – sorry mate I don’t get that first bit like?!.
It’s not just about winning or loosing – you pick points up with a draw as well mate.
Looking at the league just now – we have draw 1 and lost 7. Whereas Brighton have draw 6 and lost 2 – we were one of those 2.
Which means they are picking points up from all the other teams – whether that be 3 or 1, they are coming away with something. That in itself breeds confidence within the players.
What you are talking about in Villa is wins to draws ratio. I couldn’t agree more with you on that one. But I’m talking about draw to loss ratio – and that’s where we need to improve.
Keep winning the games we are winning, but start drawing some of the ones we aren’t.
Sharpy17(Quote)
It may just be a bad time. Norwich, Brighton and Huddersfield have all had similar dips.
I’m just a bit concerned with some of the performances and the fact we look poor when our two main players are out, shelvey and Gayle.
We can address the midfield but Rafa likes one up front so I can’t see us signing anyone decent to sit on the bench.
We didn’t look too bad today. Draw the cards until Colback messed up
Gashley(Quote)
It was not long ago we were 6 points clear of 2nd. We are slipping down here and we are not looking like a side that has more than one way to play. Are opposition sides working us out?
Sharpy, Hayden does all the defensive wotk Colbck does AND gets forward AND dominates in the air. He should be our 1st choice ‘holding’ player and somebody else should play alongside him. We need a new signing for when Shelvey is out or we need to drop Diame back and look at a different system for the games where we just can’t find a way through.
Today we brought on 3 subs too late on for my liking. Murphy got 4 minutes. Atsu got 5 minutes and Perez 13.
Shamrock(Quote)
Rafa’s unwillingness to change formations worries me. And what’s happening with Mitro? Not even on the bench? Injured or acting up? What if Gayle gets injured? We don’t seem to be flexible enough.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Sham – agree mate. A big concern of mine is that Rafa keeps going with players who simply aren’t doing it – Colback, Gouffran and Perez being the prime examples for me.
I think we are on the same page with our frustration though.
Some may see it as negative or being overly critical. For me it’s honesty and justified concern.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Rumours that Mitro is on his way out. Several Prem clubs said to be interested including Palace. He might be Big Sam’s type of player I suppose. What kind of fee could we get for him now? 10M? He hasn’t done a lot in the Championship but he hasn’t had a lot of playing time to be fair.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
We seem to be an all or nothing side as many have pointed out. That’s more of a weakness than a strength for me. I still believe Rafa will sort it out. I’m amazed by Brighton. What a job Hoots is doing.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Great attitude, strong and loves the toon but has the pace of an asthmatic gran in a gale… I wouldn’t be too upset if he goes.
Gashley(Quote)
Sharpy – I don’t think it’s reasonable to only look at the defeats that could have been draws without acknowledging the wins that have been very close and could have been draws. The point I’m making is that I’d rather have this current ratio of wins to losses than swap three of them defeats for draws as if we’re taking an average that would mean we’d also have to convert 3 wins into draws and that would leave us 3 points worse off than we currently are.
Anyway, all in all I am more than happy with where we are. If you’d have asked me at the start of the season if I’d be happy with 52 points from 25 games I’d have said yes. All things considered I think we’re in good shape to attack the second half of the season.
Oh and by the way, how lucky are Man Utd?! Two terrible decisions have helped them here.
Stuart79(Quote)
Who would of thought Hoots would have his team playing better than a benitez team.
They’re main strength is not losing, very resilient.
With the squad and manager we have, we should be doing much better
Gashley(Quote)
Their ….
Gashley(Quote)
If we can get at least 10M for him I think it would be good to part with Mitro. Especially if we aren’t going to use him much. Too much reliance on Gayle though. If he gets injured we could be knackered. Is Murphy good enough to be second striker? I see Armstrong has been recalled from Barnsley. This looks like the beginning of some moves by Rafa to me.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Anyone with common sense saw this coming.
It is delusional to think we’d “walk it” but most did for some reason.
funkyjesus(Quote)
After Brentford and Rotherham we have a few difficult matches. We have to be ready for that. ACON starts Jan. 15th but players will be called up a few days before. I’m starting to get a bit concerned.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I think Mitro has been a real disappointment for Rafa. How we deal with it might decide whether we get automatic promotion.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I hope Rafa plays an alternate side in the cup game. Promotion is far more important at this stage. If we had a huge lead in the league we could go for it in the cup but not now.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Also worth pointing out that this time last season Burnley (eventual champions) had ten points less than we have.
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu , you say it’s the same set of players but actually we are missing the one player who seems to make us tick -Shelvey. Gayle relies heavily on the Shelvey supply line and it really shows when he doesn’t play. We may of beat Forest but we huffed and puffed all the way.
We need a couple of quality in comings who can hit the ground running, teams are seemingly working us out now and we don’t seem to have the key to unlock teams who park the bus. We’ll likely see a similar result when we play Rotherham and the onus will be on us to attack being the home side. Brentford away next and their last 6 is WWLDDW, not too shabby.
Kimtoon(Quote)
Brighton don’t look to be faltering like Norwich has. How strong is Reading? We know Huddersfield are decent and stubborn. Good teams with good managers just behind us.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
ill say it again Rafa wont change his way of playing,its play offs at best for us
icedog(Quote)
Kim – Shelvey not being available is obviously a problem and one I expect Rafa to address this January with a midfielder coming in. But let’s be honest, Shelvey is probably the best player ever to play in the Championship so it’s hardly surprising we’ve missed him. But he’s only missing one more league game.
Stuart79(Quote)
Ice – How do you come to that conclusion? If we do the same again in th second half of the season we will have more than 90 points!
Stuart79(Quote)
I think people are uneasy because we keep comparing the present to the Hoots side that were so brilliant in finishing first with only 4 losses all season. We obviously won’t manage that but we win a higher percentage and draw a lot fewer matches. I think we’ll end up in the mid 90’s and either first or second. Rafa will make changes because he has to now.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Could do worse than give Roberts a chance when Atsu goes to Acon.
Groucho(Quote)
Most as in maybe 3??
Gashley(Quote)
Shelvey the best player to ever play in the Championship ?? 😯
Gashley(Quote)
the teams chasing us beat these bottom club without a problems we have lost 7 now,Hoots goes away and beat Fulham a team we could not beat and they have been flying,Stam has Reading fired up and only 3 points if they win their game in hand, Hudd are picking up well Leeds are also going well,shall i go on we have also got to go and play Hoots away,ime worried i tell you Rafa will walk if he does not get us up first time his rep wont allow him to stay
icedog(Quote)
I don’t see us collapsing or anything. We’re still one of the two best sides in the division. Rafa will get us going in the right direction again. Changes will be made. I never thought we’d walk it but I did think we would finish first or second and I still do. We have huge advantages. The biggest ground, the best supporters, a top manager and some very decent players. In Rafa we trust.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Some good points there ice mate, but I think we’ll pull it off and get automatic promotion. That Hoots is amazing though. 😀
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I would say Shelvey is the best bald player ever to play in the Champs. Having a Gru lookalike is part of what makes us dead sexy!
GeordieTwo(Quote)
Ice – Do you think Brighton, Leeds or Reading will continue to win every game and not have a bad patch?
Stuart79(Quote)
Gashley – Who is better than Shelvey to have played a full season in this league? Can’t be many.
Stuart79(Quote)
Shelvey has done nowt yet Stu & you didn’t say a full season.. Looks good but was useless first half a dozen games apart from 1 superb pass. Very early days to be saying he’s the best. He’s a complete knacker in my eyes for calling a player a Paki and leaving us in the ****..
Even our season in the fizzy we had seasoned pros like Colo, Jonas, Nolan, Barton, etc
Vardy and many more could be considered better
I’d say he’s just caught up to Ryan Taylor?
Gashley(Quote)
Some changes are coming. I don’t think Rafa will be satisfied with this many losses. The game is afoot lads!
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I still think we will get promoted. We just need a couple of new signings to bring a bit more tactical flexibility, which I assume is why Rafa has stuck to one system so rigidly.
Rafa is no mug, so I won’t be doubting him but I reserve the right to call a spade a spade when things go wrong and he makes questionable decisions – such as sticking with Colback and making substitutions too late to have any meaningful effect.
Shamrock(Quote)
Firstly Gashley – He didn’t call anyone a “Paki” so maybe you need to get that particular fact right. Secondly, to say he’s done nothing yet is almost beyond belief. He’s clearly our best player and makes us tick. Have you seen any games?
Stuart79(Quote)
Brighton didn’t lose too many last season. They were a goal down at Fulham but managed to win 2_1.
We’re not far off making it right again.
Who knows, if shelvey was playing we could be 4-6pts better off!
Just shows our squad isn’t as big as we thought it was
Gashley(Quote)
Oh and for comparison look at Man City. They had a blistering start like us and now are going through a period of reality.
Cream always rises to the top.
Stuart79(Quote)
I read he called a player the P word which was blanked out in the paper??
Shelvey has played his football mainly from the bench, either from bad attitude or being too fat, hes still young but hasn’t made it yet anywhere to say he’s the “best” yes he’s played well in approx 10-13 games but hasn’t proven nothing apart from being on course be a decent player. Time will tell…
Remember Paul warhurst 😀
So he’s better than Barton, Colo and Nolan?
Gashley(Quote)
Plus, when you’re spraying balls around next to Colback, you’re bound to look good 🙂
Gashley(Quote)
Barton is **** and more of a liability than Shelvey. Could be said Colonfound his level because he hardly ever performed in the PL.
For reference he got found guilty of calling the player “a smelly Arab”
Stuart79(Quote)
Yes, the P word was *****.
Anyway. He should of known better. They know the FA will come down heavily if you bring nationalities into a spat. Especially the 87th minute ffs
Colo found his level yes, but his legs were going. Shelvey is just finding his level after all these years
Gashley(Quote)
Rafa says hes bringing Sammy back from Bolton as he might bring us something we dont have,aye Rafa a bigger pile of **** ffs,we must be having no luck in the market to stoop that low
icedog(Quote)
Well I disagree, Shelvey has a bit to go to be close to Barton, who wasn’t that great…
Gashley(Quote)
More like Bolton don’t want him, he may look more attractive if we’re after selling him ? he may be replacing atsu who’ll be away soon. ?
Gashley(Quote)
Ice to be fair Gouffy is not performing and Aarons is a permanent crock. If we can’t get a PL standard winger in then there is no point in wasting cash on somebody for the sake of it. Maybe we will get a winger though. Atsu is off to.ACON and is not that good anyway imo. That leaves only Ritchie and a sub standard Gouffy. We need more depth so Ameobi plus a signing gives us flexibility.
Shamrock(Quote)
Bolton fans don’t want him to go and by all accounts he’s been pretty impressive, albeit a league below.
Stuart79(Quote)
but hes bloody awful,would much rarther bring a lad in from the under 23s
icedog(Quote)
Hoots is showing what a capable manager he’s always been, that the Fatman cut him loose to bring in bloody Pards still remains a mystery to me.
Kimtoon(Quote)
Storey Mitro told Rafa on Friday that he wants leave,so was dropped from Blackburn game 😐
icedog(Quote)
Will a huge failure if we finish below Reading or Hudders or Leeds. I won’t put Brighton in that group as I think they are excellent .
Kimtoon(Quote)
Well that’s not really surprising Ice as he’s not got much playing time has he. I don’t think Rafa trust him and if Mitro knows PL are sniffing round you can see he’d want away. He’ll need replacing cause if Gayle gets injured we are screwed.
Kimtoon(Quote)
We will probably bring in Wilson or Hogan to replace Mitro. Also couldn’t blame him if he wanted to leave as if he can’t get a game in this league he’s clearly not in rafas long term plans.
Stuart79(Quote)
Thought their keeper Steel played a blinder today, we could of had a couple but for him like.
Kimtoon(Quote)
Would of liked just once to see 442 with Mitro and Gayle up front, reckon that would be very effective.
Kimtoon(Quote)
lets be fair mate,Darlo has done the same for us at times
icedog(Quote)
Sammy has scored 5 goals but they’re happy to let him go, so he mustn’t be doing owt special. Especially when they’re in 2nd place, hoping for promotion…
He’ll offer us something but let’s be honest, he’s ****
Gashley(Quote)
Brentford game is on tv on Monday night 16th by then all the teams around us will of played and if they’ve all done well that will heap even more pressure on us in a tricky away fixture. Brentfords form last 6 WWLDDW
Kimtoon(Quote)
**** is being kind mate
icedog(Quote)
Aye mate and just as well too
Kimtoon(Quote)
Mitro isn’t Prem class. Anyone buying him will have the same problems from the bench as we have now… is he trustworthy? Got enough pace??
I’m a bit disappointed with Perez and Diame, thought they would of shone in this league.
Gashley(Quote)
Bolton don’t have a choice but to let him come back. Loan was until January.
Honestly, I have had to look at the table a few times today just to check I hadn’t made a drastic mistake by thinking we’re 6 points clear of 3rd. To read some of the nonsense on here you would think we’re 3rd bottom!
I’d love to know where people expected us to be after 25 games.
Stuart79(Quote)
To be fair I’d rather see Roberts get a stab at competing for a place on the wing than see Ameobi come back. Talk Roberts is off North of the border on loan though…
Shamrock(Quote)
Stu, It’s clear as day we aren’t firing on all cylinders . The problem with losing to teams like Blackburn twice, who are frankly poor, is it can destroy confidence and give hope to other lower league teams. Dogged defending for most the game until we’re knackered then hit us with a sucker punch and from a set piece at that 👿 Lose to them once is bad ,twice is reckless . Is there a clumsier tackler than Colback, he is a liability at times.
Kimtoon(Quote)
What nonsense? Apart from shelvey being the best ever player in the championship??
Ppl are just a bit disappointed with our form of late, nothing else.
We played well apart from a silly colback mistake.
Brighton are the exception, everyone around us have similar loses.
I hope we have some players in mind tho to keep us ticking along
Gashley(Quote)
agree Sham
Kimtoon(Quote)
Kim – How many teams in the history of football have “fired on all cylinders ” every game all season? We’re having a bad spell – every team has one but even our bad spell is still a 50% win ratio! That’s pretty impressive actually!
Stuart79(Quote)
now we have to wait until the 16th to try and gain some momentum again. Well at least it gives Rafa time to work on the squad and replenish it.
Kimtoon(Quote)
Stu I know but the teams around us are getting momentum, we along with Reading have the worst form out of the top 6 and even Reading have won their last 6. Last thing we need to do is give any hope to the chasing pack.
Kimtoon(Quote)
i agree mate,but is Rafa having nee luck in the market hence bringing Sammy back he kept getting dropped at Bolton because he wasnt up to it so hes going to be some help to us,not
icedog(Quote)
As for Mitro. Rafa dropped him to the bench last season, so clearly does not fancy him and then when he gave him a start, he got sent off and made himself unavailable for the start of the Championship. I think that annoyed him and he has not trusted him ever since.
Shamrock(Quote)
we must not forget that the rags are full of **** a lot of the time,they are saying now Rafa wants Joe Hart what a load of rubbish imo
icedog(Quote)
But Kim, you are talking like they’ll keep this momentum for the next 20 games! If we are only winning 50% of our games in our bad run we will **** this league!
History shows that 90 points is generally enough. That means we need to win 12 games out of 21. We’ll be ok but I genuinely think people need to stop being so negative and giving the players such a hard time. Honestly, what did people expect? Still nobody has been able to answer that?
Stuart79(Quote)
Stu, I seem to remember last season in the relegation battle you saying don’t worry Sunderland will not win enough of their remaining games and we’d be safe, then look what happened. We can’t assume that the others will suddenly hit a run of bad form, all it takes is two other teams to keep up the momentum and us to lose a few more and then confidence takes a knock and well, you know how the rest goes.
Kimtoon(Quote)
Sham – Rafa clearly doesn’t fancy Mitro and will sell him if he has someone lined up. Reckon Wilson is the one he wants to replace him. If he gets him he’ll sell, if not, Mitro stays.
Stuart79(Quote)