Newcastle United - Race to Europe....

Currently in 6th position with close points between the magpies and 5th placed Chelsea, Newcastle look like a likely customer for a ticket to Europe.

The Toon has been victorious in Europe before, winning the Inter-City Fairs Cup in 1969, the Anglo Italian Cup in 1973 and lately the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 2006. If Newcastle were to reach Europe again their expectations will be far higher, such as the Europa Cup.

Newcastle are joined by Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool for the Europe spot, which will be a hard battle. Chelsea are currently in the Champions League spot but are not far ahead of Newcastle and 5th place Arsenal. With not that long left of the 2011/12 season it is all to play for.

The latest form for us has slipped a bit in recent weeks with only 2 wins out of 5, and a well fought draw with Sunderland. With tough games to come and which will determine the European place Newcastle have to step up their game. The main players that could help us to get that spot, and my favourite players are Time Krul, captain Coloccini, Davide Santon, Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa and the two Senegalese strikers.

My view and many other Geordie views are that the players have fought very hard this season which has been one of our best for many years. But if Europe comes, facing teams like Ajax and Athletico Bilbao, the players will need to give it that extra push for glory.

For many seasons, the fans have motivated the players to the win and in Europe they will sing their hearts out to get a trophy the north east side deserve. With one of the biggest fan based teams in the country, the Toon army will love travelling all around Europe watching the team play.

The current season, we have been phenomenal in attack and midfield, but still slack at the back. With the loss of Steven Taylor in early season due to an injury which puts him out for the rest of the season, Mike Williamson had to fill the shoes of the first team Geordie centre back. Williamson is not the most experienced defender in the Premier League and that has cost us in many games, but Colo, Santon and Simpson have been outstanding, and not to forget the fling Dutchmen Tim Krul, who has been one of the outstanding players this season.

 

Newcastle United - February Wrap Up

The month of February has been a big month for the Premier League calender as it is off the back end of the Window. Newcastle have signed one player, Cisse, which has been a big hit in February, with two goals.

Newcastle United's form in February: WWLD

This is not the best run of form as we only picked up 7 points out of the expected 9, that was 2 points dropped at a fighting club Wolves. My player of the month will go to Davide Santon, due to his great tackling which included pace, and his great performance against Villa. Santon has helped the attackers out a lot whilst he pushes up from the back.

The magpies first game of the month came to Blackburn away which we got all 3 points. The goal scorers were Scott Dann (OG) and his first of the season Gabriel Obertan in the 90th minute to secure the win. This win put pressure on 4th place and 5th.

The second fixture of the month brought us to St.James Park against Villa. With Demba Ba opening his account from his first game back from the AFCON, Newcastle were 1-0 up. With a massive injury time added on at the end of the first half due to Leon Best and Ryan Taylor suffering an injury, Robbie Keane managed to pull it to 1-1 at half time. With Best off the debut Papiss Cisse replaced him, we surely had the upper hand. With a lovely cross in from Jonas, Cisse used his finishing touch to put the magpies 2-1 up and making it his first goal for his new club. This win had our chins up for the rest of the month.

The 3rd game of the month came to White Hart Lane against high flying Tottenham. Earlier in the season we managed to knick a point at home, but they were the in form team. With a dodgy start Newcastle were 2-0 down within the first 10 minutes. By half time Spurs were 4-0 up....and it doesn't stop there. I don't know what Pardrew was saying in the dressing room, but he defiantly messed up hit tactics. The final score came to 5-0, a massive shock in Tyne-side. This was no surprise as Spurs were a real challenge for the league title.

The final game of the month was at home against struggling Wolves. Wolves with their new manager was looking forward to the game. Newcastle went 1-0 up at the 6th minute by his second goal for the club Cisse, then 12 minutes later Jonas put the toon 2-0 up with a stunning strike which was never going to be saved. At half time Newcastle were in the driving seat and looked like getting 3 points. Wolves came out the dressing room determined to pull it back. Jarvis and Doyle secured a point for battling Wolves but Newcastle dropped their heads in disappointment as they let a good lead wash away. The game was over and a point was rubbish for our standards.

The month was over and 7 points is average if you look at the teams we had. March will have similar kind of fixtures with the derby game at home against Sunderland, then away to Arsenal, then home to Norwich and then finally away to West Brom.

My rating of the team in February: 7.0.

POTM: Davide Santon

 

Newcastle United - Another week, another waste.

Vs Wolves at St.James Park or Sports Direct Area or whatever you want to call it.

With our two main Midfielder's back and Tiote performing well at training, we were going into the game with confidence and a expectation to bounce back from our last game, 5-0 loss to Spurs.

The starting line-up consisted of: Krul, Simmo, Colo, Williamson, Santon, Jonas, Tiote, Cabaye, R.Taylor, Cisse and Ba.

So, we sit in 6th place with a point between us and 4th (Chelsea). With a confident match preview and a exciting build up to the game we were favourites to win. With Wolves not having the best of weeks, with the sacking of Mick Mcarthy and not getting a manager until late in the week, they looked like a struggling team. Wolves last match was a 5-1 loss to West Brom.

A 52,287 filled stadium was the perfect scene for the Magpies. A 6th minute goal from the new signing and his second of the season Papiss Demba Cisse lead Newcastle 1-0 up. Wolves with a good share of possession but they did not look like scoring. On the 17th minute Jonas put Newcastle 2-0 up and we were starting to look like a real team again. At half time Pardrew said "We spoke about it at half-time, that the game wasn't over because Wolves had fair control of the first half although we got two goals." (source: nufc.co.uk).

The second half Wolves were controlling the game more, they wanted it more. On the 49th minute it was 2-1, a goal from Matthew Jarvis, the toon were poor in defence, we always are, it's just typical Newcastle. With the dismissal of Tiote and Cisse, me nor the fans did not know what was going through AP's mind. Why take the goal scorer off and put a midfielder on? Then came the 65th minute 2-2 Kevin Doyle, Newcastle had lost a comfortable 2 goal advantage, at home!!!

The post match talk was like this.  "We never got to grips in that first 20 minutes (of the second half). Having said that, they were two poor goals we conceded and we should have done a lot better."

"Our front two, you would have fancied the more they came on to us, the more we would have had chances at the back to get the third."

"But two poor goals have cost us today." 

And carried on going about the Spurs game.

He also mentioned about us being more settled for our next game against our rivals Sunderland, which is a must win game.

That is all for me too say. I will leave you with this.

Pardrew has messed up his tactics again. We miss S.Taylor, a lot. And we need to be more consistent, especially on games that we should pick all 3 points on.

Another week, another waste. 

Newcastle United - Season so far...

The toon started the season off with a draw at home to Arsenal. The next three games were wins for Newcastle, our heads were up for the rest of the season, we were in good form. With an unbeaten run until November we came across Manchester 'money' City. But with the new free signing Ba who was in excellent form, we still had high hopes.

As the table stands on 21/02/2012:

5		(5)	Chelsea	25	12	7	6	44	31	13	43
6		(6)	Newcastle United	25	12	6	7	36	36	0	42
7		(7)	Liverpool	25	10	9	6	29	23	6	39

Now I will describe how I think the squad has performed and an overall rating:

Tim Krul: With 9 clean sheets so far, that does not match up to his performance, he is a natural shot stopper. Krul has countless times saved the magpies from defeat and also kept us in the match when most needed. With a massive kick, he has set up many goals, including Ba's first one at Manchester United. It would be a disappointment to see him leave at the end of the season due to his talent, but this season he has been incredible. Overall rating: 9/10.

Fabricio Coloccini: The leader, the big man at the back. Missing out a few matches due to injury, Colo has been nearly impossible to get past. There has been some bad points about his defending which he needs to improve, one is to get more pace about him and two is that he needs to be more affective when he goes up for corners. The Argentine has been very good at last minute challenges and has been very affective, where would we be without him? Overall rating: 7/10.

Mike Williamson: I can not really rate Steven Taylor as he has not played many matches, and is out for the rest of the season. His replacement, our back up defender Mike Williamson. Not the most experienced centre back but is physically big and is effective in the air. Has made a few mistakes at the back which has cost us, but you cant improve if you don't make mistakes. Not much more to say about Mike so I will end it here. Overall rating? 6/10.

Danny Simpson: Simmo the goal line saver. Why I say this? As I remember, 3 times this season he has saved us in the most important games, from the line. A signing from Manchester United, Simmo has been our first choice right back because of his pace and defensive skill, you could make some negatives about his play , like pushing up forward to help the attack but not tracking back quick enough, for example in the Chelsea game. A very big part of the back 4 and of the team, lets just hope he can keep it up. Overall rating? 8/10.

Davide Santon/Ryan Taylor: The reason why I am talking about these 2 in the same paragraph is because they have switched position due to injuries with Gabriel Obertan. Santon, a new signing from Inter. He owns pace and good awareness he has been a good part of the Geordie defence. Overall rating? 7/10.

Jonas Gutierrez: Not the fastest player in the team, and not the most effective this season. With good dribbling skills he has gone past most opponents and has scored in decisive matches. Good at tracking back and holding up the ball to push forward, Jonas has given the ball away too many times for my liking. Overall rating? 5/10.

Yohan Cabaye: Another new signing from Lille, Cabaye is technically gifted on the ball from free-kicks to corners to through balls. Yohan has a lot of assists, and has a great ball control and great vision to pick the pass for our attackers. Sitting in the centre of this season, Cabaye has not only assisted in  big matches but also has finished goals in big matches, such as the Man U game when he finished that great free-kick. Hopefully we can keep him for next season, as we could get into the Europa League he would be in a big part. Overall rating? 7/10.

Cheick Tiote: An animal in many viewers eyes. A physically strong player, with pace and is master at the long shot, this Ivory Coast international has played one of the best out of the whole squad. He has not only helped out in the middle by moving the ball on but has also won the ball back when tracking back to defend and has been a big help towards attacking set pieces. Whilst at the African Cup of Nations we have shown that we have missed him, big time! With big clubs interested in this 25 year old player, it is very unlikely he will not be in a Newcastle shirt next season as he is Champions League standard. Pardrew will have to use his persuasion skills to keep this multi talented player. Overall rating? 9/10.

Hatem Ben Arfa: The reason why I am talking about Ben Arfa here rather than Obertan or Ryan Taylor is because I have seen him play right midfield more than anyone else. Anyway lets start. What can I say? On and off performance for this Frenchman, a skilled and talented player in many ways, very confident on the ball when taking on players this season, and can play that pass that is special to the attackers. Has moments of brilliance this season such as his performance against Blackburn in the Carling Cup fixture, which he picked up Player of the Round in. Not many appearances this season due to not a good team player and is a ball hogger at times. Good comeback from a massive injury last season. Overall rating? 7/10.

Leon Best: He is a substitute striker, and he is a decent player when we need him. A replacement for the main strikers when they are out. This season so far he has scored 4 goals, not the best record as he is not a natural goal scorer but has scored when we needed it. Offers from Celtic (on loan) which he has tuned down due to him wanting to fight for his position, from my perspective, I want him to get games because he is a useful outfit, so I would not mind if he goes on loan. Overall rating? 7/10.

Papiss Demba Cisse: Now this is an interesting one, even though he has only played in 2 games from when we bought him from SC Freiburg. From what I have seen so far, I can see that he is a multi talented player. In his games he has showed great first touch, good vision and a good accurate shot. A good debut goal, what else could you want? That will be it for this player, will be mentioning him more in my Blogs to come. Overall rating? N/A (not enough games to rate)

Demba Ba: GOD! This player is too good. Picked him up for free from the bubble blowers (West Ham) and I bet they are kicking themselves. With 16 goals so far, Ba is currently the third top scorer in the league. Great finishing and good in the air, Ba can finish from any angle. With a perfect hat-trick under his belt, his confidence is sky high and he proves that on the field of play. Missing games for the African Cup of Nations, we have struggled badly. This season he has proved himself to Pardrew, the fans and especially other clubs! I would be disappointed to see him walk out the door for a Champions League team. Well too sum up one of our best players this season, he is a key part to strive forward and get the spot we deserve. Overall rating? 9 and a half out of 10.

Well that is my view on the players so far this season, I'm sure you all have a different aspect.

Now I shall talk about our targets for the rest of the season.

As I can see our odds to get 5th is average. From a fan's perspective I think if we work harder, by improving at the back with pace and controlling the ball in the middle of the park we are eligible to get that Europa League spot. Of course Ba will look to be more of a contender for the Golden Boot.

  

Newcastle United - January Window

January Transfer News


As most big named Premier League clubs in the present time, it's all about spending a fortune on players that look like they have potential. Lets take Andy Carroll as an example. He started out his professional career at Newcastle United, a very good start scoring 31 goals in 80 appearances, so he already was a talking point for big clubs. Then came along the January Transfer Window! The club most interested in the Geordie was Liverpool who came in with a bid of a whopping £35 million, which of course Newcastle was not going to turn down. 30 appearances later 5 goals, it's not what you own, it's what you know! 


Which Alan Pardrew has.


Well lets start of with our youth players going on loan.


James Tavernier - As a youth member of Leeds United (signed in 2001), James then was scouted by Newcastle in 2008, who then on joined the youth team. With no appearances in the senior squad, Newcastle still had high hopes for the lad, so loaning him out to 4 teams in the 2011-2012 season. This gone January Transfer Window, James was let out again to MK Dons for more experience, and was joined by the veteran Alan Smith. This loan will end until the end of the season.


Haris Vučkić - Haris the born Slovenian started of his football career at Slovenian side NK Domžale with 5 appearances and no goals, but he must of had a talent if a premier league team scouted him. 2009 was his lucky break, Haris had signed a 3 and a half year deal at St.James Park. He picked a spot in the senior squad with 6 appearances with again no goals. So Newcastle sent him out to join the Wales side Cardiff City for a loan spell for the rest of the season, picking up his first goal on his debut.


Mehdi Abeid - A bright talent. But has not picked a loan deal yet, but Pardrew will get him one. The French born Midfielder, has already made a name for himself in the Newcastle team. The toon signed the young Frenchmen from French side Lens for a five year contract in 2011. Abeid has joined Algeria over France due to family reasons. Mehdi is desperate for a loan deal by the end of the season.


Now onto the real signings of the window for the Magpies.


Papiss Demba Cissé - The only signing for Newcastle in the Transfer period, but it was a big one! The Senegal born Striker was spotted by Newcastle during his time in SC Freiburg, he was the second top goal scorer in the Bundesliga 2010-2011 with 22 goals, 6 goals behind of Mario Gomez. Papiss has already had links with Newcastle through his international team mate Demba Ba. Cisse had signed a 5 year contract of a £10 million deal. Pardrew had a big decision to make, by putting trust into him by handing him the famous number 9 shirt. Papiss was set to come on as a substitute in the second half for his debut against Aston Villa, but injured Leon Best had too come off with a sustained knee ligament injury in the first 20 minutes, so Alan Pardrew had to either choose between Shola Ameobi or Papiss Cisse. So on came the £10 million goal scorer, will his debut be a Torres one, or could he be another Ba. He had to make a good first impression infront of the 48 thousand Geordies. Ba marking his return to the Premier League with another goal to make it 1-0. On the stroke of half time the irishman Robbie Keane makes it 1-1. Then came the 71st minute mark, WACK! 2-1 Newcastle, the fans go mental for a debut goal for Cisse, the old Newcastle keeper had no chance of saving it. Cant beat that for a debut.


That is the end of the window, bring on the next!


To wrap this all up, 2 up and coming youth players go on loan for experience, and a magnificent signing for Senegal Strkier Papiss Demba Cisse.


Two Demba'a two goals.


Kieron Roy