Newcastle head into the sixth round of fixtures this season amazingly sitting in the Champions League places. Of course, this won’t last, but let’s enjoy such a strong start to the season. There is also every chance we can extend the feel good factor by picking up points at the Amex when we visit Brighton on Sunday.
Such a strong start has been helped by some excellent performances from some players who underwhelmed in the Championship last term. It could just be a coincidental purple patch, but there was a wider debate last year that some players are better suited to the top flight and not the Championship. Did you ever buy into this theory?
Jamaal Lascelles
I have always been a fan of Lascelles, mainly for his heart and strong leadership skills. He has always appreciated the size of Newcastle and gets what it means to the fans. He played through the pain barrier last year with a hernia and is still young and improving at 23. However, some poor displays in the Championship can’t be avoided last year, where despite being skipper, he was often our weak link.
He was outstanding for the final stretch of games in the Premier League previously and has started the season brilliantly this year. The main thing has been his solid defending but his displays have also been capped with back to back match winning headers. Lascelles has his flaws but maybe the Premiership brings out the best of him. I personally think his main weakness is getting turned and being left one on one with an attacker, so being a side you is set up to defend first this season, not attack, could well be why he is doing so well.
Chancel Mbemba
Unlike Lascelles, Mbemba didn’t even play for last season. After showing promise the season before, alarm bells were ringing for the Congo international when he could not even get a game in the Championship. Injuries have seen him played at left back this year and he has looked excellent. Even when Gamez excelled at Swansea, Rafa drafted Mbemba back into the XI for the win over Stoke. He does give the bonus of added height when played at full back, which was no doubt in the thinking to deal with right forward Diouf last week, who is a towering presence. Like Lascelles, playing in a defence minded side could be helping him but he certainly looks far better at this level.
Ayoze Perez
Now this one is more of a stretch. Unlike the two above, I don’t think Perez has started the season particularly well, despite being still trusted at number 10 by the manager. As always, his work rate is excellent and he is willing to be the first line of defence when pressuring the opposition on the ball. It is mystifying though that he looks exactly the same in the top flight as the Championship; he needs to do better clearly but the jump up doesn’t necessarily phase him. Longer term I think his position in the side needs to replaced with some real quality if he doesn’t up his game, but he acts as a good squad player in the meantime.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Like Perez, Mitrovic was poor last season. Just four goals in the second tier was alarming, even if he didn’t play every game. He continues to be frozen out, with Joselu preferred rather than Gayle last year. He has already scored against West Ham and I find it interesting he scored goals in the Premiership last time around yet struggled in the second tier; the physical nature of the Championship should have suited his style on paper.
Can the team keep up our form and do you think some players are better suited to the Premiership?
It is odd Simon, without a doubt. Maybe the players were more familiar with the PL players and their play and took time to get up to speed with the physicality of the championship. Certainly you get away with a lot more fouls in that league, unless you are NUFC where you get away with zilch 🙄
KIMTOON(Quote)
there is a lot of players cannot handle the ccc not just toon players but we did ime pleased to say even if we did hit some poor games,dont know if its a case of some players cannot handle playing twice a week sometimes 3 games in nine days
icedog(Quote)
L/Pool payed 40 mil for the OX on last nights showing he would never handle the ccc and was bloody hopeless in the cup game,L/Pool fans must be spitting blood at wasting 40 mil on him after that showing
icedog(Quote)
Just one game Ice. Except someone on here (Kimtoon?) quoted Thiery Henry as saying he had watched Ox-Cham in a lot of games and still didn’t know what he did/was good at.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
See Timmy the Hoof now signed at Brighton permanent
hope he does well there
Premandup(Quote)
And … How can Rooney’s friends in the media put a positive spin on Rooney, but they do:
* took over the England team from a weak Mr. Roy and oversaw the Iceland debacle.
* was dropped from the England team and subsequently “retired” after he was pushed out.
* free transfer to Everton after Mourinho showed he obviously didn’t want him.
* Koeman’s job hanging by a thread as he plays Rooney every game as a number 10 but Wayne chooses to play midfield anyway.
* Drink diving ban but should have got another 200 hours of community service for his bad taste in slappers.
And still his pundit pals and the media in general defend him!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Glad for Krul. I don’t know why Rafa pushed him out. His distribution was bad but look who he had the choice of who to pass to a lot of the time – Steven Taylor and Williamson!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
How does that work then? He signed on loan, the window closed and now its permanent? A clause making it permanent after just 1 appearance? Who knows.
shamrock(Quote)
I never saw that Krul deal,like Sham how have they done that out of window,storage like as it was reported that he could not play against on Sunday?? because it’s only a loan
Icedog(Quote)
Norman Stanley Fletcher… I mean, Wayne Drongo Rooney:
You have pleaded guilty to the charges brought before this court and it is now my duty to pass sentence.
You are a habitual slapper worrier when Colleen is out of town and do not realise that everybody has a mobile phone with a camera on it nowadays. You also drop back into midfield too often when Ronald asks you to play as a number 10. For bad taste is slappers (is there any other taste in slappers?), and wearing a piece of carpet on your head, I hearby sentence you to 200 hours of community service at Toxteth Women’s Prison.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
wonder if there is a fee to pay for Krul?,well he was on a good wage so that has reduced it anyway
icedog(Quote)
😆 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
Keep your virus checker going lads and lasses
Hack Alert: Equifax
Equifax, one of the three largest credit agencies, announced that 143 million credit records were stolen between May and July. This means Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses, and credit card numbers are now in the hands of criminals.
Icedog(Quote)
OH God. I just thought of something horrible to say about Wayne and his community service at Toxteth Women’s Prison.
Family reunion, say hello to your sister and mam!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
My Mrs always says to me if I mention Rooney oh you me spitting Sid as she says that’s all he does when she sees him on tv lol
Icedog(Quote)
Kenedy played really well for Chelsea tonight
Icedog(Quote)
Rooney, just looks like a sad has been now, clinging on to his glory day’s and making a fool out of his mrs again. She must be a bloody saint to stay with him, she’s wealthy in her own right with clothing and perfume ranges and that Asda promotion contract means she’s worth a couple of million now. She doesn’t need his cash but would get some anyway if she walked away cause of the kids.
Beats the hell out of me how love can blind a person to accept their dignity being trashed. Maybe once but he’s a serial offender and eventually she’ll wake up one day and think **** this.
KIMTOON(Quote)
She is wealthy in her “own right” because of her association with the potato. She would not have a hand bag line or be quoted in the Daily hateMailif it wasn’t for her potato of a husband.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
if she walks she will get 70 mil settlement,whats she bloody waiting for i say
icedog(Quote)
i see Rafa said club could have signed two players just before close of window but he blocked them as he didnt think they had the right temperment to fit in with this group he only wants players that will fight for the shirt and not use the club as stepping stone,good on you Rafa
icedog(Quote)
heres a little bit of the storey
https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/newcastle/benitez-blocked-potential-transfer-moves-for-newcastle-united-this-summer-report/
icedog(Quote)
Totally nuts.
So just 3 few games ago:
– Lascelles was totally unproven in this league, now he should be picked for England according to some fans?
– Mbemba wasn’t good enough and we had nobody to cover at LB
– Perez was useless, now he’s doing loads of things well (even if not banging in the goals)
And so on…
Not to mention the club was going to get relegated because even Huddersfield and Brighton strengthened more than us (not true). Now fans are thinking of Europe.
Nuts.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Eric, oh aye, you’re right mate, I’m just pointing out she doesn’t need his money .
KIMTOON(Quote)
NOW.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
TDS, Do you deliberately post stuff like that to get a rise ?
Who has said we’ll get into Europe on here ?
We have NO dedicated LB who is fit and it’s more luck than judgement that Mbemba is ok there and he wasn’t fit until recently. Gamez is ok but struggles to last the full 90 due to fitness problems.
No one I know of on here has questioned Mbemba, in fact most believe he was harshly treated previously when not picked.
Perez isn’t good enough at the moment, this surely cannot be denied , he is working hard but is not an effective forward at the moment.
Lascelles has been excellent but the season is only 5 games old and he was poor last season albeit a different league. It maybe he’s better suited to the PL .
Huddersfield and Brighton HAVE shown more ambition than us breaking their respective transfer records shows real intent by newly promoted clubs , so have Everton and many others for that matter. We’ve had a good-ish start but lets not get carried away.
KIMTOON(Quote)
TDS, if the fatman thinks it’s plain sailing from here on in on the basis of what we recruited and where we presently stand then he really doesn’t know football at all.
If we stay up this season it will be down to a great tactician , team spirit and few injuries.
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM
No. But it pisses me off reading such unbalanced views. For the record, I’m not specifically referring to this thread either.
Dummett, Gamez and Mbemba seems plenty of cover at LB. If we had signed someone better than 2 or 3 of those players, I imagine we would have tried to sell Gamez too. Out squad is full and every team has a slight weakness. I really don’t think we have a big problem at LB.
I’ve read comments about Lascelles in multiple places, including: https://nothingbutnewcastle.com/2017/09/blogs/fans-plead-for-international-call-up-for-newcastle-star/ and it’s a joke.
I really hope we don’t get carried away, I really do. Finishing something like 14th would be a very good result.
Brighton and Huddersfield will have considerably lower wage bills, with many players on championship wages. Pointless comparing us to Everton when they’ve been a top 10 PL club for several seasons and also sold Lukaku for mega money.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
KIM
I don’t know what people don’t understand! The money available is the money available. Why do some fans try to twist it that Ashley is somehow sitting on a huge pot of money and refusing to release it?
There’s a certain amount of money available and the recruitment team failed to spend it. It’s not like Ashley decided to pocket £30m instead to buy a new yacht. And for anyone who things it does, the proof is in the accounts.
Ashley deserves criticism for not having a proper football person running the club and making some stupid decisions (hiring KK, hiring Wise, hiring JFK, not taking advantage of finishing 5th to ensure we stayed top 10 etc.) but there’s no need to add extra failings to his CV.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS, I mention Everton because despite their spending they are not doing well at all. I heard plenty of Everton fans calling for the managers head on 5live, and they call us deluded 🙄
We do not have a fit dedicated LB, that’s a fact, more luck than design that the players put there are working , so far.
Lascelles is a strange fruit for me. Undoubted quality there and has looked a very good player last few games yet seemingly unable to do it at fizzy level consistently , Very odd.
KIMTOON(Quote)
TDS, Ashley offers a wopping £20m bonus if we win the FAcup to the players, why not give that to Rafa in the window instead? Because he knows he’ll never have to release that money, the guys a spiv who pukes in fire places for a past time.
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM
Plenty of clubs have 1 specialist player for a position and then a couple of utility players who can fill in. We’ve got Yedlin, Manquillo and Gamez at right back and I’m pretty sure the latter 2 have experience at LB too. Plus we still have Haidara on the books I think, Mbemba does have previous experience playing at LB and we also have Sterry in our 25 man squad. That situation isn’t Ashley fault though is it? The transfer team managed to get rid of Lazaar but they didn’t get rid of Haidara and Gamez or get in a LB.
Everton fans are pissed off with having sold Lukaku I reckon. They’re been playing with a 9 for years and now they don’t have one. Not good for them.
As for Lascelles…let’s see at the end of the season…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Wonder how often he misses . . .
georgio(Quote)
KIM
I truly don’t understand the £20m bonus for the FA Cup, but it was all negotiated with the players. Do fans seriously mind that Ashley is willing to pay the players for actually WINNING A TROPHY? Not to mention that winning the FA Cup will bring in a huge amount of money to the club in prize money, plus ticket sales for all rounds PLUS fantastic PR.
There was money available to buy players! But players needed to go out too and they didn’t.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS – not just 3 games ago mate, you can go all the way back to us first signing Lascelles, I said he would go on to be an England regular.
I’ve always thought Mbemba was a good defender who could cover the whole back line.
I’ve always thought that Perez will have 1 excellent game to 10 bang average games. So much talent, so little consistency.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy
I always thought Lascelles was decent too, mainly because he seems to have the right personality. He just needed time and experience to be a truly good CB for us. But that doesn’t disguise that many have been slagging him off.
Perez confuses me too, despite not scoring enough, he’s been singled out for praise by some pundits recently.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Rafa obviously rates Perez, to be fair he looked proper good when he first arrived but for me he blows very hot and cold.
KIMTOON(Quote)
TDS, what’s the prize money for winning the FAcup, I didn’t think it was all that much.
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM
About £2m I think. But all of those extra rounds will bring in a few more million I imagine. The PR/advertising angle is the biggest thing though. Actually winning a trophy would be a fantastic thing for the NUFC brand. Not to mention the fans! 🙂 🙂
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS, Everton fans were full of it at season start, title contenders they were saying and the press too for that matter. All loved up with the return of the Roo and all of a sudden , oh dear they aren’t happy bunnies. But lets see, long way to go yet and there will be plenty of teams swapping positions in the league with all the flip flopping of fan emotions that provokes along the way.
If we can get to 1st of January with 28 points we’ll be doing ok I reckon.
KIMTOON(Quote)
TDS, Trouble is we will likely exit the cup pretty quickly, it’s just what we do in recent times. 🙁
KIMTOON(Quote)
KIM
Cups are a bit of a lottery anyway. Anyone can beat anyone on the day. But it’s about bloody time we get a bit of luck in a cup!
Everton signed some decent players and I think Rooney will still contribute plenty, but they’re still missing a number 9.
Title challenge though???? That was crazy talk.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS, yep, crazy, not to mention stealing the deluded tag from us, how very dare they. 😉
KIMTOON(Quote)
It’s possible that Lascelles is somehow better suited to the PL than the Championship. But it’s also possible that he’s feeling a lot better this year after that surgery he had in May, and that the injury he was carrying really was hampering his performance quite badly.
Either way, after years of seeing Mike Williamson in the starting XI, it almost feels like we have an embarrassment of riches at CB with Clark, Lascelles, Lejeune and Mbemba (and even Dummett, in a pinch).
Charlie Prince(Quote)
It’s £20m for winning the FA Cup!
You may be right Charlie – I criticised him a lot last season for being caught on the ball so often, forgetting he started well so maybe it was the injury he was carrying. Mbemba has been a revelation at LB (TDS – I don’t think he’d played there previously). His ball into Joselu for his first miss was outstanding.
There’s an awful lot of players in our team with a lot to prove on a personal level. Hayden – am I good enough for the PL? Mbemba – I am good enough for the first team. Clark – I’m not the error prone player seen at Villa etc etc all through the team. With an absolute top class team of coaches we just could have an outstanding season.
georgio(Quote)
What!!!
You cannot sign a potato to replace a Lukaku.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
He was good in his day, but he is not any nore.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
N is next to M on the keyboard!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
I could be wrong about Mbemba, but I seem to remember when he was signed that he could also provide cover at full back and I think it was LB.
Pretty sure Manquillo and Gamez have covered both sides too, not sure about Yedlin.
My point is, that I don’t think we are short of numbers in any position. Where we may be short is quality. But good teamwork can make up for that and maybe a few good players will turn out to be really good players.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
I don’t agree with the anti-Rooney stuff at all. He’s been a quality player for club and country for a long time. His only failure in terms of football is that he didn’t live up to the fans’ expectations of consistently being one of the top players in the world. Like Owen, he clearly declined relatively young because he started very young. But he’s also an excellent team players so I think he’s good for Everton. Really I’d like to see him in the England squad too because I think his experience is valuable and he can still offer something from the bench.
As for his personal issues…if every footballer who was cheating on his wife and behaving like a scumbag had to do the rounds in the media, we’d have 10 channels on Sky devoted to it. I don’t care about his personal life, most footballers act like complete t**ts in their personal lives I figure.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
I’m going to have to write an article at some point…a realistic appraisal of NUFC. I’m going to get slammed…
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
He was a good footballer at one time TDS. He was talked up to be the English Messi. But he wasn’t. Not his fault. But the media were still treating him like he was.
Enter Mourinho. **** off Wayne. Simple, like.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
And….
Rooney will be the undoing of Koeman. Either Ronald realizes that Wayne is his nemesis or he will be sacked.
Or, he doesn’t play him !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
You cannot sign a potato to replace a Lukaku!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Very true about the media. People are making out that he could have consistently been as good as Messi but somehow chose to be as good as Rooney instead. It’s not his fault and he was still a **** good player.
Rooney doesn’t suit the Mourinho style of play. He’s no longer good enough for a top 4 club in the PL. Simple really.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
Rooney was a good player 5 years ago.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Rooney was a very good player 5 years ago. Still a good player now, but not a top player for a top 4 team.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
And he was never “world class”.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
He is played as a number 10 and drags the team back. He is sh!te now.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Everyone I speak to has a different definition of “world class”.
Rooney is still an excellent team player with great vision and a lot of skill. What Everton are massively lacking is a goalscorer. I don’t understand it. They bought in Rooney, Sigurdsson and Klaasen over the summer, all of whom I think are best when playing just behind a number 9. But they haven’t got a number 9!
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
We will see. Either Koeman leaves or Rooney is benched.
I think Wayne has something in his contract that says if he is fit he plays !!!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Have you watched Rooney in the last 3 years!!!!!! ?????
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Yes. He’s had some good games and some bad games. You’re doing exactly what you’ve accused the media of doing! Stop thinking that if he isn’t a top class player, then he’s ****. He’s been alright the last few years, just not as good as he used to be. Plus, he’s been played all over the pitch at Man U.
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS: Rooney is not a good player now. He is *****. He drags the team back to the half way line when he should be up front – where he is supposed to be. He yells at the Ref because of his attitude. He is ***** now.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
No Eric. He has been played all over the pitch, not just up front. So, sometimes he drops deep to try and dictate the pace. His attitude to the ref is just like many players’ attitude towards the ref.
Anyway…who gives a **** about Wayne Rooney?
ToonDarnSarf(Quote)
TDS: they show every Man U game over here and I watched him because that was the featured game. He was shyte. Believe me.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The TV, Sky, his pundit mates. All over the TV every day?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Rooney pulls the shape of the team off kilter whe n hedrops back to his own half, when he is supposed to be a number 10. And then he is not fast enough to get back to where he should have been in the first place. It is obvious.
I don’t understand why everybody gives him a free ride – the press, the slapper, Roy Keane.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Mr. Roy let Rooney dictate where he played and how did that work out?
And Harry Kane taking corners!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
well imo Rooney has been very poor in the last 5/6 yrs not that i was ever a lover of him,once “he” thought he was a canny player his head took over his game now he couldnt handle the ccc
icedog(Quote)
Who gives a **** about Rooney?
The press. all day, every day.
Sky, all day, every day.
Match of the day,
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Icedog: you agree with me on this one so I am going to agree with you 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
😆 😆 😆
icedog(Quote)
Rooney was a right dirty git on the pitch and because he was Rooney he got away with 90% of them
Icedog(Quote)
Northumbria police are being really kind to Scum fans they have put a speed camera outside SOL so some fans can go home with three points
Icedog(Quote)
very true, never liked the bloke. Have been waiting for him to retire so I can enjoy England again.
KIMTOON(Quote)