Newcastle travel to Oxford today, and despite the knowledge that FA Cup ties can often cause upsets, there seems to be a sense of optimism in the air.
After a good run in the League Cup and a first FA Cup victory in five years, most seem confident that Rafa Benitez can take his side on a good FA Cup run, as well as guiding them to promotion.
However, at the time of the injury to Dwight Gayle, Newcastle fans could be forgiven for thinking that all of these plans could be derailed.
This worry was put to bed in the very same game that Gayle suffered his injury, with Daryl Murphy coming on as a substitute and grabbing the winner against Brentford, in that game.
Since then, there has been a starring role from Yoan Gouffran, who gave a brilliant account of himself in the replay against Birmingham, and another goal for Murphy.
The question is, should it Murphy to lead the line again today? Should Gouffran be given another chance in his proffered position? Or should Aleksandar Mitrovic come in after injury?
For me, Mitrovic is the obvious answer. With Sammy Ameobi Cup-tied and Christian Atsu still at the African Cup Of Nations, Gouffran will be needed on the left hand side, while Daryl Murphy should be saved for the league.
Mitrovic deserves the chance to stake a claim for the starting spot, and I would expect him to get the chance today.
If we lose to a perm side fair enough but to league 1… and now 3-0 ???????
This is an embarrassment
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Lincoln beating Brighton and spurs losing to Wycombe. Liverpool lost to wolves at home. Just one of those days but too many changes for us and not a lot of experience in the side. Players like Mitro and Good needed to step up today, but they missed the mark by far. Both won’t be here next season imo.
Shamrock(Quote)
Well this will make the fatman happy anyway, no pesky cup run to get in the way of things.
Decent cup runs are a distant memory under our owner to the point where we have forgotten how to go on one now. 🙁 🙁
kimtoon(Quote)
Nice to see young Armstrong get on the score sheet today.
Shamrock(Quote)
now we can concentrate on getting in the play offs.
In Rafa we trust.
Shades of Hereford today
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
At least show some respect to the travelling fans … our lot should hang their heads in shame… Perez and Mitro appalling really appalling.
Dubai Toon(Quote)
agree,that was a strong enough team to win.
kimtoon(Quote)
What a joke. Beaten 3-0 by a league 1 side. The team we put out should have been easily able to win this. The players just don’t care. Very unhappy at this debacle
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Spuds winning
Brighton losing so free to concentrate on the league too now
kimtoon(Quote)
Gutted for Wycombe. Spurs win by an own goal at the end.
Dubai Toon(Quote)
****!
Fans Should Own the Club(Quote)
Brighton lost 3-1 to Lincoln, who are not even a League side. This happens in the FA Cup. Too much change in the team shows Rafa had no intention of taking us in a serious cup run, meanwhile players like Good, Mitro, Heidara, Gamez, Selz and Lazaar do not look good enough for this level, never mind the PL next season. I don’t see a big future for El-Mhanni either tbh. At least Rafa now knows who has the character/talent to help carry the club forward and who does not.
Our squad is very weak imo, outside of the starting 11. If we are not going to sign a player of two in this window ready for the PL next season then that’s less time to find the right players (quality and quantity), get them in and bed them in during the summer. It’s going to be a struggle next season of we don’t get a couple of good quality players in the next couple of days, so that we have less players to bed in over the summer…
Shamrock(Quote)
Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 16m16 minutes ago
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Lascelles also seemed to be reasoning with some fans. #nufc
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Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 16m16 minutes ago
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Mitrovic has just apologised to #nufc fans and put his hands up.
kimtoon(Quote)
Mitro is ****. There. I said it.
Shamrock(Quote)
To be fair to Troy, he called Mitro out very early.
Shamrock(Quote)
Well he was bound to get one prediction right I suppose 😉
kimtoon(Quote)
Reading won today as well so the gap between us and 3rd place narrows too.
kimtoon(Quote)
Really sad about many clouds collapsing and dying after winning the race today. He has collapsed previously with a lack of oxygen apparently. Makes you wonder why they continued to race him really, must of been question marks after the first collapse.
kimtoon(Quote)
kimtoonbonny lass, not sure how you can have a pop at Ashley for this defeat today. This defeat lies firmly at Mitro’s and to a large extent Rafa’s door. Too many changes Rafa.
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
Well I thought it best we drop out of the FA cup but not like this. Very disappointed to hear the news. Mitro is snake bitten. Rafa won’t like it at all. As for Ashley, who knows and who cares about him? Never been trustworthy from the start of his time with us. Will we get someone in now?
GeordieTwo(Quote)
The changes by Rafa were deliberate to save players for the league. We just can’t afford injuries. I think he knows Brighton will continue to give us trouble and several other clubs are playing well. I hope Gayle is back to playing form soon as we will definitely need him. Too many disappointing appearances, especially by Perez. Should probably be sold in the summer.
GeordieTwo(Quote)
I could accept losing like this to a prem side or even a championship side but not to a league 1 side. This is completely disrespectful to the fans…
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Dubai, League 1 mid table too.
This was a horrendous result, make no doubt about it.
I was at the Rotherham games last week, and with a full team the first half was absolutely GARBAGE. The worst toon performance I have seen live for years.
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
Everything **** goes back to that **** 👿 sucked the joy of the cups out of the fans and oversaw us relegated under his penny pinching transfer policy and poor management choices. The fact he got Rafa shows that when he really wants to he can get a decent manager in. Rafa had little choice today than to field that team really as we simply cannot afford to get injuries to key players. We have a pretty good first 11 but our depth is poor and we will struggle in the PL without quality reinforcements .
kimtoon(Quote)
Hoots made 7 changes today too and lost, he will be prioritising the league too.
kimtoon(Quote)
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Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 31m
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Was clear that Rafa felt those that did get the chance today let themselves down badly. Was from happy in the Press conference #nufc
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Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 35m
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Rafa has explained he had little choice but to play this team. His main concern is promotion #nufc
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Lee Ryder @lee_ryder · 36m
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Rafa: “We didn’t take our chances and didn’t mark well on corners” #nufc
kimtoon(Quote)
I just want to see players that are proud to wear the black and white – I think that’s what most of us want really. I did not see any of that (or should I say hear any of that ) today… gutless..
I was under no illusion that we would go all the way, but this was a great chance to just progress that little bit further. Really upset by this result today.
Dubai Toon(Quote)
I do not blame Rafa… that team was perfectly capable of beating a league
1 side…
Dubai Toon(Quote)
Curtis Good was shocking for goal number 1. Hayden was almost as bad for goal 2 and I think it was Lazaar at fault for goal 3. Our man marking at set pieces is woeful. Every goal from a set piece.
Shamrock(Quote)
Was it though? Selz has been **** all season. Good has not played for years and is **** anyway. Gamez at full back? Not good enough all season. All of the defense with barely any games between them all season. 2 kids in the midfield, away from home with virtually no first team experience. And we got constantly shown up at set pieces, meaning the players and coach were not learning from previous mistakes in the game.
Our squad does not have sufficient quality in depth and if we don’t get our arses into gear in this window, then we will have too much to do and not enough time in the summer.
Shamrock(Quote)
Big mistake not playing a stronger side. Surely you play your strongest 11 and have a bench of squad players and put 3 of them on when the game is safe.
What a good opportunity to progress simply wasted.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Dubai
I’m a big fan of Rafa. Always have been even when at other clubs but he’s not immune to constructive criticism. He was to blame for the result as the team he put out weren’t good enough.
The result is everything.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
I agree with Troy here. Rafa is the best manager we have had in donkeys years, but he messed up today and has to take some of the blame.
Shamrock(Quote)
So C/P chairman says they have not had any bid from toon for Townsend ??
Icedog(Quote)
Can we really blame Rafa?if the players have used the tactics they have practiced in training against this standard of team then they are not good enough then to be squad players at the toon,I know the cup throws up strange results but to be out played by this standard of players imo is not the managers fault altogether,their manager said they had watched a few vids of toon games he must have picked out toons weakness in defence so against second rate defending he got his prize
Icedog(Quote)
Firstly I disagree with anybody saying he should have played his strongest side. Promotion is the important thing and with a squad that is already stretched to the limit why risk more injuries to more key players? What would people’s reaction been if Murphy or Shelvey had got injured playing today? They’d have conplained. Secondary and much more worryingly for me is that Rafa seemed pretty angry today. Angrier than he is normally after a defeat. He’s clearly frustrated at the lack of action in the transfer window and made more than one comment about the strength of the squad. I get the feeling he’s starting to get pretty pissed off with some people at the club and the lack of movement.
Hope I’m wrong but the signs aren’t good.
Stuart79(Quote)
I tend to agree with you stu,more so when we saw the standard of squad at his disposal today
Icedog(Quote)
£16m bid for McCarthy turned down according to the Mail.
Shamrock(Quote)
Don’t buy that mate sorry,we are talking daily fail like
Icedog(Quote)
I don’t think he should have sent out his strongest side, but do think he changed the defense tland midfield too much. Ameobi has lots of League 1 experience and could have played the wing, saving Gouffy. El-Mahnni is way too raw to be anywhere near the first team. Good has never been good enough or fit enough. He should have had either Lascelles or Clarke in there to keep stability. They don’t run around as much and don’t need as much rest. Findlay could have been on the bench. Meanwhile, his tactics did not work end of story and he failed to connect.e up with a plan to counter their dominance at set pieces, as we got done by pretty much the same thing 3 times. I don’t blame him solely for today, but you can’t lay all the blame at the feet of a couple of spotty faced teenagers and half fit, talentless no names. It’s a mixture of a few things that resulted in today;
A) Bad team selection.
B) Bad tactics.
C) Bad application by the players.
D) Lack of quality in squad depth.
For me, we know Rafa will get it right if he has the resources to do his job, even if he makes the odd mistake here and there like today. The answer is simple. The board needs to pull it’s finger out before Rafa and the fanbase gives up on the club.
Shamrock(Quote)
Wolves, who have not had PL no such for years, are about to spend £13m on a winger. Why the **** can’t we do that?
Shamrock(Quote)
*PL money*
Shamrock(Quote)
Beats me mate,well not really jabba grubby paws are back on the purse strings does not help Ime afraid,Rafa and Penfold left to run the club with no money like
Icedog(Quote)
“We’re gonna play our strongest team and target the cups from now on”…. Aye right, whatever. zzzz. 3-0 at a LEAGUE ONE club, mission accomplished for another year. Pleased I didn’t travel and wouldn’t have enough points, phew! Well done all. PLEASE RAFA PLAY ELLIOT FOR CHRIST SAKE. Sels wouldn’t get a game for Hartlepool! Whoever signed him cocked up and we all know it’s lost cause, time to move on now and let it go as to keep trying him is getting really irritating, he can not play in the PL so get him shipped out. See if we can sell him back to Gent and ask for our money back as someone is having a Joke charging £6.5m for him. We should look up the EU equivalent of trading standards.
DJG(Quote)
People who claim that the team we put out today should have been good enough to beat a League 1 side are wrong. Take a look at the line up, a mish mash of lightweights who have never played together. Rafa dissed Oxford and they battered him for it.
The players AND the manager are the flagship of our beautiful city. Rafa’s ego will not have liked that hammering one bit.
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
Sham, it’s frustrating as **** mate it really is. Don’t care what anyone says, it’s no coincidence that transfer activity has stalled since Jabba has gotten back involved. Rafa has been saying we are close all window so it now looks like he’s been fed a line. I think he’s getting pretty frustrated now.
kimtoon(Quote)
DJG agreed about Selz, has the bloke kept a clean sheet ?
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
Shamrock
Ameobi and Sterry had already played for other clubs in the FA cup on loan, so they were cup-tied mate.
DJG(Quote)
If it’s true that the CP chairman said no bids for Townsend then I do wonder if Rafa has been told otherwise ? And where has the press gotten their info that we want him back?
kimtoon(Quote)
We had no trouble signing players in the summer when our future was far from certain, now we are top two and it’s proving hard work, so what has changed.
kimtoon(Quote)
Good point re; Ameobi DJG. Colback, Tiote and Vuckic all have the experience to be able to mix it with Oxford mind.
We need a good clear out and a big upgrade in the squad if we are going to survive next season. If we don’t sign good players this window despite Rafa repeatedly saying he wants players this mk the, then I have no faith that the job will be done pripey in the summer, if that’s even possible.
Shamrock(Quote)
Transfer claim of the decade by the Daily Mail today. £16m bid for James McCarthey… Oh dear. Have they nothing better to write?
Stuart79(Quote)
kimtoon, maybe the toon are being held to ransom ? who knows really, in the mean time Ashley gets battred for it, whereas today the players blew it. garbage performance all round
Delusional Jawdee(Quote)
I’m sure I read a direct quote from Rafa in the last week saying he wants 2 signings and likes Townsend (which is as good as saying he wants him).
Shamrock(Quote)
not buying that mate, more like there’s no funds. As for that 16m bid for Mcarthey , do me a favour 😆
kimtoon(Quote)
Wouldn’t they be spending that money on Townsend rather than McCarthey? Non story – next!
Stuart79(Quote)
ime with you on that stu
icedog(Quote)
The Mail McCarthy story might not be complete bollocks. He cost Everton 13 million. All you have to do to see how mental the transfer market is is look at Ross McCormack.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Mitro seems to scuff a lot of shots but I am still not certain that he is a bust yet. The fact that Troy doesn’t rate him gives me hope that he will turn out OK. However, at this point, if we could get our money back on him I would take it. Maybe he could be the bait for Townsend with Palace instead of MBemba?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Wow! Some people are frightened they get injuries to key players. Can the manager ever win.
A great opportunity to progress to the 5th round and he puts out a weakened team and blows it big style.
A player can get injured in training.
Pards got slaughtered for playing weakened sides in the cup. The same people defend Rafa for doing the same.
YCMIU.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Don’t know about Rafa’s post match reaction. Getting beat 3-0 at Oxford would seem the simple explanation for a bad mood rather than transfer inertia?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Troy: Pards got slaughtered mainly because he was ****. You are still defending him. YCMIU
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Stuart is reading between the lines about Rafa’s transfer situation with the clubs hierarchy.
Has he borrowed my nans Baba Vangas crystal ball?
YCMIU
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Clarky-O-Meter: a last gasp goal from Longstaff moves Killy up to 8th in a league of 12 with one more point than games played. On his budget that is a decent showing, if not quite Brian Clough-esque.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Oh, and Pards had the team he wanted but they gave up on him. Just like every other team he has managed for any decent amount of time. There was a pattern there and only one person could not see it.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I’m only going off the form book, Troy when it comes to transfers and Ashley. It was working very well when Jabba wasn’t involved and now all of a sudden he’s back in the frame and the transfers have all gone to ****… coincidence?
Stuart79(Quote)
And Pardew got slaughtered because he had nothing else to play for and still played **** teams.
Stuart79(Quote)
At least Diame is on his way home.
Stuart79(Quote)
Apparently Rafa has been told not even to bother following up on some enquiries he’s made.
Stuart79(Quote)
Well Derby very nearly knocked out Leicester and Wolves just beat Liverpool. I think we will need to be on our mettle to take three points from these league games tbh and we may have beaten QPR 0-6 but they are no mugs and will want revenge on Wednesday.
DJG(Quote)
Wow! Stuart.
Pardew had nothing else to play for?
According to some he was playing for survival from relegation.
Pards wold have kept Palace up for sure Psychs.
Looks like Clarky is working miracles at Killy.
Saved them from relegation last season and now has them comfortable. Only 7 places from the top slot.
Am I ever wrong?
Oh. I mustn’t forget my longstanding loyalty to Hughton
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Rafa played a very weakened 11 and it’s not the first time he’s done it this season. That said, was it good enough to have been able to beat Oxford? – well Mitrovic could have had 2 in the first half and missed a penalty – so possibly, certainly better than a 3-0 defeat.
As much as I don’t like as many changes – and I can’t help feeling like it’s very disrespectful to our traveling fans – if you look at the players we had playing, they should have had enough to beat Oxford.
But I have to agree with Troy. A lot more would be said if Pardew, Carver or McClaren had overseen today’s cup exit.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Wow Troy’s still drooling over Pardew….
How predictable that troy reckons Pardew would of saved Palace. This is why i wanted him to stay at palace..so he could finally prove how **** he is.
Finally, he’ll be banished to the lower leagues for sometime.
England my **** 😛
Gashley(Quote)
Anyway, stats will say with an average pts ratio of 0.72 they would of had around 27pts over 38games…
😳 😳
Palace have won just six of their past 38 league games, taking relegation form from the end of 2015-16 into 2016-17. Despite reaching the FA Cup final last season, their points to games ratio (0.72) is the worst in all four divisions in 2016.
😛 😛 ❗
Gashley(Quote)
Sorry but we never got past the 3rd round with Pardew and we weren’t battling relegation in January for the most time with Pardew.
Let’s not forget we had Gayle and Anita injured with Diame, Atsu and Mbemba in Africa. That’s five players missing. The team Rafa put out should still have won and if we had taken half our chances we probably would have won.
Right decision imo. Next season when we have a better squad we can give it a go.
Stuart79(Quote)