A frustrating night for Eddie Howe’s Mags as we faded after an explosive start to draw 1-1 draw against a much improved West Ham.
A tenth draw of the season and one that sees us slip to fourth following Man Utd’s win earlier today, although it’s by no means disastrous after Chelsea’s 0-0 draw on Friday night was followed by another damaging defeat for Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.
Howe made one change from Tuesday, seeing Joelinton drop into a midfield three and Allan Saint-Maxmin make his first Premier League start in five months, replacing the suspended Bruno Guimaraes; who proved to be a big miss. Anthony Gordon was on the bench following his £40m move from Everton, but Alexander Isak (concussion) and Harrison Ashby missed out.
We came out the blocks flying and thought we’d taken an early lead through Joe Willock, who cut in from Miguel Almiron’s cutback and smashed. However, replays showed the ball had gone one out in the build up and VAR chalked it off.
It wasn’t long until frustration went back to elation inside St James’ Park, as Callum Wilson latched onto a lovely through ball from Sean Longstaff. The number nine was in desperate need of a goal but didn’t disappoint, firing past Fabianski after beating the offside trap to score his 10th goal in his last 12 appearances against the Hammers.
Joelinton was a man mountain in the first half and Longstaff started well, yet it was West Ham who shaded the opening 45. They weren’t making it easy for us to play out and that pressure paid off, as Schar (among others) gave the ball away in poor areas. After a Lucas Paqueta shot was detected wide, the Toon-linked Brazilian made it 1-1. It was a poor goal to concede as he stabbed in a corner we failed to clear, but it had been coming. In truth, we were lucky to go into the break level, as Nayef Aguerd headed a huge chance over.
It all felt a bit flat. Too much of our play was a tad slow and predictable, with Bruno’s zip, tenacity and ability to control games missed against the impressive Declan Rice. Anthony Gordon warmed up at the break and you got the feeling he had a big part to play in the second half, but not before Saint-Maximin had a back post effort blocked with what was our first opening after the restart.
As expected, Gordon soon entered the field to a big welcome and he made an immediate impression. There was a pace, directness and intensity to his play, as he released the ball quickly. His biggest contribution saw drift in off the like and slip Wilson in on goal, only for Aguerd to make a last ditch block just as the striker looked destined to spot past Fabianski.
Another huge opening then came Wilson’s way, this time with his head. It was a goal had he directed his effort either side of the goalkeeper, but it was straight down Fabianski’s throat.
Late substitutions saw Elliot Anderson and Jacob Murphy replacing a jaded Joe Willock and Miguel Almiron. Both did OK and we controlled the final stages, but West Ham proved a stubborn nut to crack and we were missing Bruno’s inventiveness, also hampered by Isak’s absence.
Our final chance fell to Gordon after a half-cleared corner found our new £40m man on the edge of the box. He struck it well and it was heading on target, only for a claret and blue shirt to block it well.
It ended all square and we couldn’t have too many complaints. A fair result and frustrating night, yet it’s a sign of progression that our ‘off nights’ still see us avoid defeat – which is more than Liverpool can say following a 3-0 battering at Wolves today.
Joelinton, for me, was the standout player in black and white, proving once again how far he’s come as he held his own against the outstanding Rice. Schar was unusually sloppy, giving away the ball in poor areas too many times and Saint-Maximin failed to impress, lacking that sharpness Gordon immediately offered.
Next up, a trip to Bournemouth next weekend.
Disappointed with that. We’ve lost our way. Too many draws. Maxi has lost his way. Gordon looked good when he came on. He should start next week. Maxi offered nothing.
Botman was superb again for me!
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I think you hit the nail on the head with flat.
The first 5 mins had me thinking this was going to be a dominant & convincing win. Our reaction after the disallowed goal was just brilliant – but then we just seemed to take our foot off early. I’m not saying sit back but we didn’t go for the jugular.
I think we took too many touches around the box passing it from right to left and left to right – there were times I just wanted someone to pull the trigger & take a shot.
It’s another point on the board which is good. Liverpool lost, Chelsea drew & Spurs have City tomorrow so you’d hope City take the points there.
We have to be more clinical though – that’s 11 games since the international break and we’ve managed 12 goals.
Sharpy17(Quote)
This was different to our other disappointing draws. We only had 8 shots and only 2 were on target – the goal and that Wilson lame header. In the other games we were having about 20 shots.
West Ham have always been in a false position. Their players are much better than relegation fodder.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
This may be against the consensus, but I thought Wilson played better. Those 2 runs he made for the goal and then the last ditch tackle were very good. He seemed to have a bit more energy.
Then there is ASM. He is still not firing. The opposition are still double marking him and he is still trying to wriggle free. He had a couple of good crosses but Gordon was much more direct when he came on. He also showed his pace a couple of times. We might just have the 2 fastest left wingers in the league.
I am not sure what to do with them though. ASM needs a goal or assist to get my full backing, otherwise I might be thinking about starting Gordon. Good problem to have.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Maxi was rubbish yesterday. Don’t know what to make of him. He seems to be trying to play as Howe wants him to rather than what he does naturally. Whatever . . . it’s not working. Gordon looked decent. We also need a better LB than Dan Burn. Is Targett nearly fit.
So Maxi, Burn, Willock being poor and Miggy losing his sparkle, a draw is a decent result. But it also shows undoubtedly how much we miss Bruno.
georgio(Quote)
Yeah we seem to have gone off the boil a bit, teams have sussed miggy and are now shutting him out, most of his goals were the same so it’s not that hard for them. Maxi gets 2 or 3 on him most the time and then loses possession or goes up a blind alley. Think he’s trying to track back in fairness but it takes something away from him.
Wilson is a strange one, looked a bit better and quicker on Saturday, more his old self. Was it covid he had in December ? If it was then he could be suffering from long covid which would explain him being out of sorts.
We REALLY missed Bruno orchestrating the play for us, everything good we do goes through him really, but a draw was ok just don’t want too many more.
kimtoon(Quote)
Kimtoon: I think we have to mix it up a bit. When fit and able to play we have 5 strikers – Wilson, Isak, ASM, Miggy and Gordon. 5 into 3 doesnt go.
I reckon ASM should be a super-sub until he shows something this season. He can change a game, but you also know that the opposition is game planning for him now. Howe may have already bought his replacement – Gordon. Having ASM track back and look for a pass may have taken away from his game but it could also be covid. He is still an enigma, and even though he has been told to look for the pass he didnt do it with BDB on Sat. There were a couple of times Burn went on the overlap and ASM ignored him.
Use Miggy more sparingly. We need to mix it up when the players are fit. No more unchanged teams EVERY week. I think Wilson will finish the season strong.
We still have this in our own hands coz Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs all have to come to SJP.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
For some reason this didn’t post so, try again
Our start to the season was p7 w1 d5 L1 before we started firing
Since the restart we have p6 w2 d4 L0 and qualified for wembley
Current form would imply 68pts and probably 5th but every team has a dio and if this is ours I’m OK with it
PremAndUp(Quote)
I also think we should cut some of these footballers some slack. If they have had covid they will not be back to their old selves immediately. I will give you an example of what I am going through now. I got Gastroenteritis/Stomach Flu 3 weeks ago. Like Covid you can get it from people or surfaces as well as food. I was really ill. Couldnt eat for 2 days and looked it up on line and it said that is how long it usually lasts. NOT FOR ME…
I tried to eat and threw everything up. Then I tried to drink tea or water and threw that up for another 5 says. I lost 10 pounds and felt as week as a kitten. Even 2 weeks later I still feel like ****. I have had to buy some jeans a size down until I put the weight back on. I didnt need to lose weight, I was at my ideal weight before according to those charts.
It looks like Callum is almost there and Maxi made a couple of sprints that says he might be too. We will never cure his decision making though 🙂
Real stomach flu is a virus like covid. It is not the sort of thing you call into work for to get a day off to watch a football game.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kim – the problem for me is that Miggy is only left footed, and Maxi is predominantly right footed – so teams anticipate them cutting in on their favoured foot.
It would have been interesting to see Howe swap them & encourage them to put balls into the box to give their defenders something different to think about.
Whilst I understand not wanting to change a winning team, we are going same 11 with the same approach every game.
It’s clearly effective as Prem points out and only 1 defeat so far so why would you change?.
But mixing it up a bit to get teams thinking – I’m all for that. Just now it feels like that only happens with subs.
I’m not being overly critical because I still think what we are doing is unbelievable!!.
We finished 11th last season with 49 points.
Honestly, I would have been pleased with more wins and 55 points – I would have saw that as progress & build on from there.
So where we are now is probably 2 or 3 seasons ahead of where I thought we would be.
Sharpy17(Quote)
This carry on with Man City is an absolute joke!!.
The PL are investigating City breaching over 100 rules & not sticking to FFP rules from 14-5 years ago – a total of 9 years.
First question – where the F were the PL between those years????.
Oh and this only came to light coz some Portuguese dude hacked into emails & a German magazine printed the story – it’s not like the PL themselves were all over this!!!.
Then you’ve got Chelsea, which is just numerous breaches waiting to come to light too!!.
But it’s ok coz the PL was all over our take over.
The PL are not an organisation fit for purpose!!.
During that time the likes of Man Utd & obviously Liverpool finished 2nd to City – they don’t get those titles back!!.
The reporter on this reckons the investigation will go on well beyond this season & then City are likely to contest it, so it goes to the court or arbitration – like they did with their last investigation where a 2 year CL ban & £30m fine was reduced to a £10m fine.
There has to be an investigation into the PL for me as well as City – how has this been allowed to happened over such a long period of time & so many rules have been broken with nobody picking up on it.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Oh my god – just seen on SSN Christian Atsu is believed missing under the rumble after the earthquake in Turkey!!.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I just saw that… terrible… hope he and his family are ok! 😔😔
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Leeds have sacked Jesse Marsch. 😳😬. Cabbage heed is available!
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Oh my that’s awful news for all concerned
kimtoon(Quote)
Let’s hope he is OK
PremAndUp(Quote)
Not Bruce, but there is talk of the WBA manager who formerly coached under Bielsa. My guess is the guy at Celtic will be brought up again. Will anybody in the media be willing to throw the names of their former darlings – Lampard, Gerrard – into the hat?
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Are the serious journalists in league with the ex-player pundits? They never call out the likes of Savage who has a Red Top column or Danny Murphy on talksport who all talked up Lampard, Gerrard and Bruce and called anybody who had a different opinion delusional. Now these favourites are all gone and their replacements are doing so much better. Even Dyche who has as many wins in his 1 game as I think Super-Frank had in his last 10. It is like it was all a dream and they never said what they said.
It wasnt just them sticking up for their pals it was the ridicule and belittling they poured on fans who disagreed with them. None have come out and said they were wrong. Apart from Bruce, the cycle win begin again when they inevitably get another job. It will be like Villa and Everton never happened. They will get a clean slate, and their pundit pals will go out of their way to say they DESERVE a clean slate.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
My God the images on the news coming out of Turkey are horrific .
kimtoon(Quote)
😔😔😔😔😔😔 terrible!
Gilly Toon(Quote)
I see Christian Atsu survived
PremAndUp(Quote)
City selling players to rivals didnt really make much sense before now. They had to, they were the only teams willing to pay the wages and get City’s books closer to balancing. I couldnt understand them selling Jesus and Zinchenko to Arsenal or Sterling to Chelsea.
They must have known they were under investigation and not only did they get a transfer fee but they got the wages off their books.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So pleased Atsu is ok, but what a horrific disaster!!.
So many people dead & so many more lives ruined in seconds.
Sharpy17(Quote)
Sharpy, you never know what’s round the corner. So glad we live in a country that doesn’t suffer these sort of events.
Cannot imagine what all those people are going through.
kimtoon(Quote)
I think the 100 Man City charges for FFP will actually help us. It will show us what NOT to do and help us avoid sanctions. I know the hearings are behind closed doors but surely the charges will leak. You can never keep anything quiet this day and age.
I have no doubt we will be in Europe but have got a little bit less sure it will be CL because of all the draws recently. Whatever happens we will have more revenue from that source. As far as sponsorship goes, that is not being litigated with Man City because they are saying it was too long ago. We will have to make an educated guess as to what we can spend.
It is not going to be easy as we have seen Chelsea going crazy with spending as Man City are being accused of misconduct and even paying Mancini a secret salary.
My guess is that a lot of people think this will go nowhere. But Juve were demoted a league a few years ago and deducted points this year and are a bigger club than Man City.
It would be nice to know what the rules actually are so we can work within (around?) them.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Good news to hear of survivors in incl atsu being recovered after earthquake.
Heartbreaking for those killed injured and still trapped or missing
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
In respect of St Maximan i feel a bit for the lad.
His first game starting since covid and injury in a new (to him) system and trying to slot into a hi performing team.
I’m not surprised he’s struggling to adapt
So I have a question.
if he is not naturally pre- disposed to defensive duties while having the ability be an impactful forward could Newcastle try beefing up his supporting crew, move him to the right and switch almiron left.
Almiron, joelinton, burn feels stable and doesn’t expose burn so much as he looks like he’s starting to struggle
On the right st maximan , willock and trippier looks tasty and is robust enough to allow st maximan opportunity to roam and innovate
Gordon looks a pretty natural replacement ( starter?? ) for any of willock, st maximan or almiron as required
GoWest!Mag(Quote)
Gordon surprised me. I have watched him quite a few times this season and he has been cr@p. I think he may have been surprised and depressed that the fans at his hometown club where he has been at since he was 11 have turned on him.
And believe me they turned. I have watched Toffee TV which has more than 70k subscribers and they slagged him off relentlessly week after week. To put the 70k in perspective, that is more than any of the channels I have seen on NUFC youtube channels. Wraith has the most at about 50k.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Looks like the club have bought back the strawberry place land that the blood sucker, Ashley, sold. We have that space back for expansion if required.
Gilly Toon(Quote)
If Schar and Willock are out, I would go 4-4-1-1.
Pope
Tripps Botman BDB Lewis
Miggy Longstaff Joelinton ASM
Isak
Wilson
We still have some options to bring on – Gordon, Lascelles, Anderson, Murphy. Maybe even Ritchie at left back?
That team cost 240 million so we arent exactly scraping the bottom of the barrel!!!
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Reading about the rift between Erling Haaland and both Pep and City. The rumours are that he won’t be at city next season. SJP sounds good
PremAndUp(Quote)
Along with Manuel Ugarte and Bellingham, tthat will help in the CL next season
PremAndUp(Quote)
Ref playing some Man U time tonight. 5 mins in the second half which is not that usual. But 8 mins in the 1st half which never happens even if there are a few injuries. They usually clip 3 minutes off to get back into the dressing room, even with a concussion.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
So 2-2
Man U 3 pts ahead, we have a game in hand and they have to come to SJP, and look at the GD
I think we Can, not will, finish ahead of them this year
PremAndUp(Quote)
Prem: trying not to tempt fate but I thnk we have the easier game this weekend.
Bindipper Derby should be interesting on Monday. The ARMY of ex-player pundits who have played for Liverpool will make it absolute nightmare to watch. A draw would be a good result so none of them will be happy 🙂
Eric Sykes(Quote)
We have Steve Nichol over here on ESPN. God, he is a miserable sod.
The PL is shown on NBC in the US. They sort of have journeymen pros as the pundits. Robbie Earle, Robble Mustoe and Tim Howard. It is actually quite refreshing not to hear the bias from the likes of Keane, Neville and Carragher.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Does anybody have any idea what is going on with football?
* the Man City 100 FFP infractions.
* Glazers wanting 6 Billion for Man U when NUFC cost 300 million.
* The Super League raising its ugly head again.
* FSG wanting Billions for Liverpool.
* Barca a Billion in debt but still top of La Liga
* Pogba injured again (I dont think he has kicked a ball for Juve) but still on 500k a week and has millions of internet followers.
* Nobody saying a word about Usmanov’s 7 year control of Everton.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Eric, it’s mental mate! It will implode. Starting with City I think!
Gilly Toon(Quote)
Yep, football is eating itself .
kimtoon(Quote)
Remember when Luke Edwards said there was no chance of the Saudi’s pip still buying us and that Henry Mauriss was the one to buy us. Well take a look at this from the Athletic.
Bullet dodged and all that, you would think Edwards might of looked into this potential owner.
Mauriss received orders to stop marketing securities in Texas and California as far back as 2006 and 2008 after being found to have misled investors.
In 2016, the FBI began investigating allegations that H. Mauriss operated a scheme for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining funds from investors, receiving more than $10million in investor funds from at least six individual investors.
Mauriss’ company ClearTV Ltd was delisted from the Bermuda Stock Exchange due to its failure to meet on-going obligations under the BSX Listing Regulations.
During Mauriss’ failed attempts to purchase Newcastle United, the businessman racked up unpaid bills worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to major British sports law firm Northridge Law, which most recently advised on Roman Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea, as well as six-figure sums unpaid to associates advising on the deal.
Mauriss has been the subject of multiple legal claims, including an eviction notice when it was alleged that he failed to pay rent for his ClearTV office space in Burbank, California (although we have been unable to establish whether the claim was successful). And, in a separate case, over $500,000 for failure to pay to lease equipment for his company.
Multiple former employees of Mauriss told The Athletic that paychecks were sometimes late or missed and on one occasion eyebrows were raised when Mauriss still managed to fund a celebrity chef Jeff Mauro, host of the Sandwich King on American television, for his wife’s birthday party.
Several of Mauriss’ employees turned on the businessman to the extent they supplied information to the FBI about their former boss, including one employee who provided evidence to the FBI that Mauriss had provided misleading financial figures to investors.
Mauriss’ proposed takeover of Newcastle was laced with risk, as his proposal included a draft document with MSD Partners for a £150m loan which included interest rates of 7.5 per cent per annum, rising to 8.5 per cent in the event of relegation to the Championship and defaulting altogether in League One.
Mauriss wanted to recruit the Rolling Stones guitarist and artist, Ronnie Wood, to the Newcastle ownership team, even drawing up a proposal which would see Wood receive £3.3m worth of shares and a £500,000 sign-on fee. As part of the agreement, Mauriss wished to receive several paintings (three for personal use and one for the St James’ Park boardroom), while Wood would also be expected to commit to performing curated gigs at Newcastle’s stadium and appearing at matches 3-4 times per season.
Network S.A., the vehicle Mauriss used to attempt to acquire Sheffield United, is now the defendant in a £10m legal claim by the Sheffield United owners in a dispute over an unpaid deposit, £1m of which was being held by the respected Manchester sports law firm JMW Solicitors, which represented Mauriss’ company in the deal
kimtoon(Quote)
Looks like we avoided Trump’s Mini-Me.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
This team prediction is an easy one Olly – unchanged.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
Kim – I know this isn’t going to go down well, but to be fair to Ashley – for all the damage he did to the club he did say he would only sell to someone who could take this club to the next step.
He held out for Staveley even when the PL seemed desperate not to let them in – he probably could have take that guys money, or anyone willing to give him £300m.
That’s absolute peanuts for a PL club of our size really – and certainly for how big we can become.
Don’t get me wrong, I still can’t stand the bloke!! – but that was one promise he seems to have stuck to.
Sharpy17(Quote)
I don’t know if any of you remember me trashing these finance professors when they were saying NUFC was worth 200 mil. They had supposedly done their calculations and that was the number they came up with. Keiran McGuire was the one that came up with 200 mil and some of the Magpie Youtubers act like he is some sort or guru. He got it so wrong. PIF were always getting it on the cheap because Ashley was just sick of it and wanted out. He wanted roughly what he paid for NUFC.
This was all before the terrible start to 2022 that Bruce engineered.
Now we are seeing 6 bil for Man U and 3-5 bil for Liverpool. They have global fanbases but football fans are fickle and always chase the shiny new toy. Look at PSG!!!
And then there was the rubbish about geography. Green Bay American Football team is one of the most valuable in the US and is in the Frozen North when most of their games are played in an outdoor stadium. It is not that much harder to get to Newcastle from London than it is to get to Manchester or Liverpool.
PIF know they got NUFC on the cheap and can throw as much money at it as FFP will allow.
I am not saying this after the fact either. I said at the time that NUFC were worth 500 mil when Keiran McGuire was saying 200. It was only Ashley wanting to get out that was driving the price down.
Eric Sykes(Quote)
The only good thing Ashley did was selling to pip.
kimtoon(Quote)