Shipshape and Bristol fashion? Bristol City 2-2 Newcastle United.

Posted on March 20th, 2010 | 274 Comments |

Carroll rescues another point.
Carroll rescues another point.
It was another away day, another game where we looked below-par and another game in which we got something out of that we probably didn’t deserve. A share of the spoils at Ashton Gate this evening has gone a long way to saving my wife’s weekend as she claims I am ‘unbearable when Newcastle lose’, and I very easily could have been classed as ‘unbearable’ as the game panned out.

Some of you may be aware that my wife follows Portsmouth, yet she was there cheering even louder than I was when the ball hit the back of the net for the away side, perhaps through sheer relief that I may not be a moody git this weekend after all, although I claim it’s because I’m turning her into a Newcastle United fan. It’s frustrating, the 2,200 travelling fans looked like having very little return on their 600 mile investment, but yet again they head home happy.

With the only real team news for Newcastle being that Peter Lovenkrands had somewhat expectedly missed out due to his calf strain with Leon Best replacing him, the attention turned to the match. A full house at Ashton Gate and a pre-match display of support for the cities World Cup bid ensured the fans were in fine voice. Buoyed on by said fans and no doubt also by caretaker manager Keith Millen it was the home side who started off the brightest.

The home teams closing down play and hassling very nearly paid off in just the 3rd minute as striker Nicky Maynard glanced a header onto the roof of the net. Several more chances followed and on 10 minutes a soft free kick was awarded against Wayne Routledge who was adjudged to have pushed Cole Skuse whose dramatic, just been hit by a bus falling over may have swayed the decision. Nicky Maynard slammed the free-kick towards goal only for Steve Harper to parry out to the on-rushing Lewin Nyatanga to slot home amidst a static defence, 1-0 to the home team.

A lead that was deserved although with only 10 miutes on the clock there was always a feeling that Newcastle had plenty of time to turn things around, a feeling that the players must have shared as time and again we were caught in possesion, giving away possesion and making sloppy passes. Despite that, Andy Carroll nearly equalised from a corner on 18 minutes, his header just clearing the top of the goal. And it was Newcastle who had the next half chance, Leon Best failing to hit a volley with any conviction which was subsequently cleared. This was more like it, despite never looking convincing we were coming back into the the game and Kevin Nolan was unlucky not to grab the equaliser when his header was collected by Bristol City ‘keeper Dean Gerken who was in the right place at the right time.

The just before half-time, disaster. A quick 60 yard clearance from former Toon player Bradley Orr gave Nicky Maynard a lost casue to chase onto. Maynard got there ahead of Danny Simpson, cut inside and cracked a superb shot from the corner of the penalty area past Steve Harper and in off the post. 2-0. Danny Guthrie could have quickly got one back just before the half-time whistle only to see his shot blocked on the line after rounding the keeper. It really wasn’t looking like it was to be our day and the 2-0 half-time scoreline combined with abject performances across the pitch seemed to echo this.

The second half started in much the same vein as the first, with Bristol City harrassing the Newcastle players. Evander Sno was next to have a pop for the home side though his powerful shot was straight at Harper who saved comfortably. Newcastle then lost Fitz Hall through injury on 51 minutes who was replaced with Hungarian Tamas Kadar, a move which nearly paid dividends as the Hungarian decided to crack a low shot from fully 35 yards that the Bristol City keeper had to deal with. Newcastle were starting to build up a head of steam with a succession of corners causing confusion amongst the Bristol City backline, a backline that was holding firm and you could sense that it was either going to take something special or a horrendous mistake for us to get back in the game.

Those prayers were answered on 69 minutes as City stopper Gerken bowled the ball out to the Bristol City left back only for Jonas Gutierrez to nick the ball and have a free run on goal. The Argentine finished smartly, drawing the keeper out before rounding him and slotting into an empty net. A goal out of the blue which turned the game, and quickly. Just 4 minutes later Wayne Routledge fed the ball from the left into Andy Carroll who finished superbly to level the scores and spark a mini pitch invasion from the travelling Toon Army.

Bristol City looked visibly deflated, all that hard work gone to waste. From then on there was only ever going to be one winner and Newcastle spurned chances to snatch the points out the hands of Bristol City. It wasn’t to be though and the match finished 2-2, a fine result on reflection of the game.

Yet again it was another display of just why it looks like we are going up. The ability to battle back and gain points out of nothing, the never say die attitude of the players. Whilst these lads we have may not be world-beaters, they play with heart and play for the shirt, something that a few of our stars could learn a few things from. Andy Carroll just keeps getting better and better. I was watching him closely and he is improving at a rapid rate. His lay-off and hold-up play in particular have come on in leaps and bounds recently.

Howay the lads!

Bristol City: Gerken, Orr, McAllister, Carey, Ribiero, Nyatanga, Elliot, Skuse, Hartley, Maynard, Haynes.

Subs: Johnson, Clarkson, Akinde, Sproule, Sno, Henderson, Maierhoffer.

Newcastle Utd: Harper, Simpson, Hall, Coloccini, Enrique, Routledge, Guthrie, Nolan, Routledge, Carroll, Best.

Subs: Krul, Taylor, Butt, Ranger, Kadar, Pancrate, Donaldson.

Attendance: 19,144 (including 2,159 mags).

NUFCBlog Author: toonsy toonsy has written 643 articles on this blog.

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274 Responses

  1. BRISTOL CITY
    NEWCASTLE
    Possession

    * Bristol City 46%
    * Newcastle 54%

    Attempts on target

    * Bristol City 7
    * Newcastle 12

    Attempts off target

    * Bristol City 4
    * Newcastle 7

    Corners

    * Bristol City 1
    * Newcastle 8

    looking at the stats, if anything, we deserved a win!

  2. It’s lookin more n more that the Forest game will be pretty crucial if our away form stays at this level.

    More than a bit apprehensive bout next season (presumin we do go up) but would rather face that uncertainty than another season in the Fizzy Pop.

  3. seems a fair summing up to me,once again though have my doubts about simpson like,will just wait and see

  4. Nice one toonsy. It looks like we were watching the same game :)

    I can’t quite agree with the suggestion that ‘we got something out of that we probably didn’t deserve’, though. I thought it was a proper gutsy fightback in the end, with some good forward play, and a great build up for the second goal.

    We probably should have got a winner in the last 3 – 5 mins, but I’d have definitely settled for the draw at half time.

  5. icedog – Commentator said he is carrying a hip injury and he did look of the pace today. Perhaps it’s time to give him a rest and play Ryan Taylor at right back? That injury sounds like it is only going to get worse.

  6. Toonsy good report mate we were lucky today but then most good teams get their slice of luck. Although I would normally go along with the thought that we should be beating most teams in the CCC. I think it was on the wall that BC would come out and play a cracker or fall to pieces as generally happens when a new manager comes in. But I am real pleased with 1pt because at half-time I was secretly hoping that they didnt take us apart. ;)

  7. Aye apologies for the length of it guys, probably over did it a bit with the 1000+ words I used.

  8. Does anybody think CH will play Joey on Tuesday in a five man midfeld with Best being spared. Nolan playing just off Carroll Donny away is our hardest away game left

  9. Only a stupid newcastle fan would want to sell guthrie like your mate anderson, you and him a right couple of dimwits.

  10. big dave,i you need luck in this game m8,im!e not saying we are man/u for one minute,but they are a team with more LUCK than 10 teams put together over the years,so if we get a bit of it i will be happy

  11. still being stupid NUFCELITE dont even no him! Guthrie watched him today will he hack it in the prem when he couldnt even get the better of their midfield will he move us forward in the prem i hope not becasue we would struggle if he is the best we got.

  12. See that rigdewell and larson from birmingham might have loop hole in there contracts and could be got for free in the summer.

  13. hi guys i was at the match today, and was very dissapointed with best once again, and simpson seems to have a terrible problem of backing off attackers and giving them lots of room it has happened against swansea and bristol city (just 2 i can remember) and lead to us conceding a goal, i take nothing away from maynards finish, but he should have never had the oppurtunity. i thought that carroll has grew in confidence masisvely since i laat watched him, and it is very good to have enrique back and playing well

  14. 1. We didn’t deserve a win.
    2. We SUCKED.
    3. This is precisely why we’re only a”championship” team.
    4. What a stupid name for a league.
    5. Please stop saying it’s good that we came away with a point. It’s not good.

  15. From 2-0 down and with our first half performance taken into account, I’d say a point was good.

  16. pure shower of shite we were out played, this team will take us straight back down if we go up..its time for this fat twat of an owner to spend big in the summer if we go up,if he dosnt were fked.

  17. The fellas that now own west ham, drew there contracts up for birmingham, and seem to think they can get them for nothing.

  18. this pro ashley mob boil me piss,do YOUS honestly think this man will invest what is needed to keep us in the prem.

  19. charlie,sorry like but i have seen a lot more than 2 m8 over a few games (simpson) he is one of my worries,would!nt be nice if he was the same class as enrique,but thats me wanting everything

  20. worky you have turned this blog into the kiss ashleys arse fan club,you want to bo ashamed of your self sonner.

  21. That is the best scond half performance i have seen from the lads this season. Not only did we claw a point from the jaws of defeat, but we done it convincingly. Big players stood up when it was needed and that has to go down as one of the most important points for us this season. Normally we scrape and undeserved point, but today proves we CAN perform away when we set our mind to it and we should see a good performance away at Doncaster now (hopefully).

    The last 15 of the first half, and the last 30 mins of the second half we were well on top and based on the chances, should have won the game. I thought Best and Simpson had their two best games for the club. Best’s hold up play and tenacity was fantastic and he helped build up on at least 3 of our chances and was unlucky not to score. Simpson looked steady and more mature in his play. I haven’t been the biggest fan of the lad, but he is starting to improve and what i really like is his fiery approach to the game. This boy will not wither away when an opposition player is trying to rough him up and he gives as good as he gets.

    Enrique, Routledge, and Gutierrez tore them to shreds in the second half with the help of some smart passing from young Danny G. Bothing new from the first two, but the latter seems to have finally found his shooting boots and what a player he will be if he continues to improve on this aspect of his game. Fantastic player.

    Kadar and Colo looked good and it would seem Tamas Kadar will develop into our very own Thomas Vermaelen. What a shot from the confident young player.

    …Lastly, Mr Andrew Carroll. It would seem i owe this man a sincere apology. In the last few weeks his game has matured FAR QUICKER AND GREATER than i could ever imagine. Everything from his shooting, first touch, off the ball runs, and ability to pick out the right pass has come on leaps and bounds and i am now eating my words about him. Just gos to show, you can NEVER write off a young player, no matter how one dimensional he may seem. Hopefully he can continue this on when we are in the Prem next yr.

  22. icedog yeah thats all the ones i could remeember, i knew there was more, he is a worry i never feel confident when people attack him unlike enrique who never seems to be beaten, also i thought that we seemed more settled with kadar than fitz hall

  23. hitman – What basis is that formed on?

    Is nobody allowed to have a differing opinion to you? How many games you been to this season? Home games?

  24. nice to be back icedog…NUFCLITE,if you think we played well you need your eyes tested or stop watching matches on the net and get sky installed.. you TRAMP…

  25. toonsy,was larsson not on the verge of signing for the toon couple of seasons ago if my mind serves me right

  26. toonsy ive been to most of them the only time im not ther is when i have to work….next

  27. toonsy

    Why are you trying to have a sensible conversation with hitman? He proved himself to be a WUM years ago on Ed Harrison’s blog.

  28. Good lad, I choose not as I don’t want Ashley getting any of my money. I support the team away from SJP, yet I get called an Ashley apologist? Go figure.

    asim @ 39 – Pack it in.

  29. and here is spyro who had his head reet up ashleys arse hole when he first bought the toon,but has lately changed his tune…

  30. reet lads who on here watched the match,how well did we play,did we deserve the draw.

  31. hitman – Ithink up until we got the goal we deserved to be behind, when we got the first one back I alwasy had a feeling we could push on and get an equaliser.

    Whilst it wasn’t fantastic, Bristol City did a job on us.

  32. Dragon – Someone has been creating duplicate accounts and being a dick by all ccounts. He tripped himself up and showed who he is. That’s the Asim bit.

  33. possesion bristol cith 46 percent nufc 54 percent but according to hitman we were outplayed read and weep mate.

  34. toonsy we relied to much on jonas,and thank god he brought his A game in the last 20 mins,before that he just didnt look interested,guthrie had a shocker couldnt cross for toffee,but then again my glasses wernt on i might have it wrong, NUFCLITE seen the match ask him

  35. Toonsy

    No surprise there then. This happened on Ed’s blog too and he was forced to implement a registration system in order to stop 75-80% of bloggers turning their back on his site. To be honest though, even after its implementation the site never really recovered properly. What gets me is, this doesn’t generally happen on other blogs, but Newcastle United blogs always seem to suffer from this. It’s strange and all a bit pathetic if you ask me.

  36. look lads everybody has there own views on all matters if not what is the point of a blog,just at times i don!t think you should insult there views

  37. The only dick is the sad little man asim whos trying to make on hes other people cause hes a sad little noob nobody every agrees with

  38. reet lads i have to ask this might upset the pro ashley mob like..but how much investment in the squad do we need to keep us in the prem if we get there,and how much do yous think ashley will give hughton.

  39. hitman – Dunno mate. No team that goes up ever really invests heavily to be fair. Out of the air £20 million. Will Hughton get it? Dunno, but then I wasn’t expecting anyone in January. Open minded.

  40. Toonsy

    Ok, well good luck with whatever it is you are going to try. However, the sceptic in me has me thinking that no matter what you do they will find a way around it. It used to annoy me, but now i say WHO CARES?! I don’t take the whole blog thing as seriously nowadays and i advise others to do the same.

  41. Dragon – It’s hard not to take it personally when I’ve spent my own spare time writing a blog only for a small minority to ruin it.

  42. HITMAN,i don!T really comment on ash/liambis now,i just surport the lads,but i will say this again,how can anybody trust people who tell lie after lie (proven)end of

  43. Really guys, racism? Is that the new way to get a bit of attention? Looks like im going to return to simply reading the articles and ignoring the comment section.
    Good match review by the way, lads.

  44. lads where all open minded,but this tossa nufclite,is just racist,nee room for people like that

  45. Toonsy

    Yes, i suppose. The worst thing is, time seems to be no boundary for this “small minority”. Whether you upload a piece at 9am, 2.30pm, 10.45pm or 3.15am the same WUM’s seem to be on here infesting the comment section. Sometimes i wonder if they are even human, haha.

  46. Regardless of anything, Hitman is right. Racism will not be tolerated NUFCELITE. You are showing yourself up to be worse than asim or whoever with comments that you are coming out with.

  47. what has family being in the army got to do with rasism, i dont understand please enlightin me prat

  48. Dragon – To be fair, they aren’t just here mate. They are everywhere. The internet is a massive place after all.

    It’s a shame though as both asim and NUFCELITE can be good banter and can say sensible stuff which gets sensible replies. Then show their other sides and trot out crap like they are doing.

  49. dragon think most toon fans care very much about the blog and quality of it the quality of this one will be hard to beat,(PROVEN)check out the others you will find out,but again thats my view

  50. “NUFCELITE is batty”

    Don’t be silly, batty doesn’t use capital letter for a start :lol:

  51. this is the number 1 blog for us toon fans,eds was but we all switched to here for the better,even tho i hate workys ashleys arse lickin :)

  52. Spyro how you doing mate haven’t seen you about for a while? You reckon Simpson had a good game? I watched the majority of the game and personally thought he looked a bit shakey, he backed off Maynard far too far and as others have mentioned this seems to be a bit of a problem of his. I think he deserves his place in the team however, but would like to see us sign a slightly older, more reliable right back for next year with simpson as his undertsudy. Who would you like to see brought in as a decent RB mate?

    And NUFCELITE, sort it out mate, what are you going for with comments like that?

  53. Nah, batty wouldn’t say things like that. ‘y dipshit’ maybe but he wouldn’t stoop so low.

    Where is the old dog anyway?

  54. it’s one thing to pull the ‘I have family in the army’ card as so many online racists seem to have done in the past, but HOW exactly does that warrant racism? We’re fighting a war over OIL, perpetuated by the rich elite in western society for their own, massive, gain. Just because the Taliban are evil it doesn’t instantly render all middle-easterns the same. Jesus Christ man, have you put any thought into it whatsoever?

  55. He will pack it in when all the man utd noobs arnt here like some idiot called asim lets hope asim dont ever bump into my bro

  56. reet the hitman is off to the blubambu…the toon were shite the day,,toonsy ban the mugs..

  57. Icedog im here me ol bean.
    DevonMag ignore it mate the Army has nowt to do with it I served in the Gulf war and lost a few friends there, but it never made me a racist.

  58. Just borrowed this from a Bristol City fan. Speaking of our support:

    “f***ing hell.

    You lot we’re bluummmin loud.

    Goodluck with promotion from now on.”

    :D

  59. big dave,enjoyed your quibs today,off thread i forgot to say i used to go to your neck of the woods (once a month) for a few years,a number of years ago used to buy and sell greyhounds for a hobby,got some cracking dogs from there,ever been to the tracks m8?

  60. Nah mate, they don’t get to me anymore. Toughened up a wee bite, and I don’t bite as much anymore :)

  61. big dave,where does he race them m8,i have lived in a number of places spain,malta,new/z,aussie,etc may move to malta again if my son and dau move out there which they trying to at the moment,would be last move this time like

  62. Devon

    You alright, mate.

    I thought he contributed well in going forward and retaining possession. He was decent defensively, didn’t make his trademark misjudged header or interception that he seems to make every game. He does back off of players far too much and that is an aspect of his game that needs to be urgently addressed.

    I agree he is still a little shakey, but the important thing for me is that i can see how his game has progressed. Even if it only slightly. However, i too would like to see a better RB come in to even out the quality of our left and right side

  63. Toonsy

    I don’t think Best is at all useless. He contributed a lot today without putting the ball in the back of the net. I think he is judged very harshly as well.

  64. Dragon – I understand what your saying like, his contribution and all, but his primary job is to put the ball in the net. To be fair he would have apart from a save from their keeper.

  65. Anybody reckon Carroll is worth the No9 now?

    I don’t, but on the basis we probably aren’t going to get anyone deemed wirthy of it then he may aswell have it.

  66. Toonsy

    I can’t argue with his primary job being to put the ball in the back of the net, but i just feel that whilst others are scoring it’s good that we have a support striker. Someone that will put in all the ugly stuff.

    Also, I was saying the other week that a cheeky bid for Denilson of Arsenal would be a smart move. He is not appreciated there as he is played out of position and made to look a poor player. He should be played as a CM with very little defensive responsibility as he makes good runs, and can pass and shoot at a varierty of distances. Today was proof of that, he seems to have had a good game and proved what a threat he is in the final third. Don’t think Wenger will let him go, but its worth a try if the fans continue to get on his back.

  67. absolute BELTER wasn’t it toonsy! Hope we can get him, really hope we can. Dragon who would you reckon we should/could go in for mate? Belhadj would be good if/when pompey go down but I think he’s a LB…

  68. toonsy come on bullard is fitness prone,had to many of those in toon,altidore to up and down imo m8

  69. Belhadj is class, i would also try and nick Piqiuionne and Boateng from them. Not sure about the RB position. I can’t really think of any good, experienced RB’s that we could attract. Any suggestions? Stephen Carr?…haha

  70. Toonsy I think he will earn it eventually but he still has parts of his game to improve on. But sometimes he go’s missing for most of the game then he will all of a sudden come into the game. and he has been knocking them in like. At the mo but I feel for young Ranger I just dont think he has been given a proper chance.

  71. haha just seen some1 on the manutd blog say man will get beat at home tomorrow 11 v 0

  72. I wouldn’t put Belhadj anywhere near RB. He can barely defend at LB on his stronger side. He really looks special going forward though. He could provide decent cover for Enrique and Jonas.

  73. It’s hard, Im actually struggling to think of a right back that is better than Simpson that we could get? Nicky Shorey? He seems like his Villa days are numbered.

  74. aye that’s the problem toonsy I can’t think of any we could attract either, which would mean having to go overseas which is always a risk. Have you seen much of Gonzalo Castro, plays for Bayer Leverkusen, or Werder Bremen- one of the two. Absolute class, more of an attacking threat than defensive rock but still extremely young and playing top level footy in Germany. Have only seen highlights of him so can’t comment too much, but I don’t think he’d come here for anything less than 5 mill. Still fits the bill perfectly though under the new transfer policy

  75. We could try and bring Habib Beye back. Although i personally feel he was declining in his last season with us.

  76. Beye = Turncoat, showed his true colours and was a poisonous influence on the dressing room.

    At 33, could he do a job having effectivelt had a year off?

  77. Who agrees that Enrique is the ‘ultimate defender’? Is there a thing this boy can’t do? Strong, quick, composed, wicked shot, very good passer of the ball at short and long distances, great dribbler, never gets tired…What more do we need from the lad!?!

  78. dont want Beye back Spyro I think he’s passed it personally, and I know they’re a better side but if he can’t get a look in at Villa he doesn’t deserve another go with us. Haha I knew you’d pick up on that Toonsy! To be fair you are correct though haha

  79. Fcuk me, Sunderlands seats have gone pink. Must have been bleached by the sun as they are exposed to the elements, no fecker sits on them :lol:

  80. Toonsy

    I think the problem is that the lad just doesn’t shoot enough. Everytime he has done it has either taken a great block or decent save to stop it hitting the back of the net. He should take a leaf from Belhadj’s book.

    I was listening to NUFC Radio the other day and it seems i am not the only one waiting for Enrique to bag his first goal. Both radio presenters are eagerly awaiting for the young spaniard to burst the net.

  81. ok might take a while like got few vists to make to hospital,and trip to malta looking to buy house for my son but i will get there

  82. Oh aye, me too. Smith and Enrique and Colo to get goals at SJP is what i’d like. Enrique is just behind Colo in my current favourite toon players category.

  83. toonsy not quite sure yet m8 could be next couple of days could be couple weeks waiting for word on a couple of houses not going over for the two need about 4 to make it worth while

  84. **Yawn**

    Just Woke Up. I am please that the team fought out their way back,to turn a “definitely” lose match to a draw match.

    Frankly,I have not seen that fighting spirit for years in BPL.During the time in BPL,when we are down 2-0 or more,the lads already gave up.

    But not this team now,They are willing to claw back to at least a point,or maybe sneak a victory somehow.

    Lastly,The Match between Nott Forest and Our game-in hand with reading,this two matches is A MUST WIN. If we win both,WE Might win the league title already.

  85. I don’t fanct our game in hand at Redaing AOD. Was watching the footy last night and they have won 8 of their last 9 games :(

    It is right about what you say, about the ability to fight back. We have a team now and whilst they may not be as technically gifted as players we have had in the past, they don’t give up. After all, these technical players got us relegated in the first place.

  86. @Toonsy: You do rmb what league are we in now right??? This league is the most fickle-minded league ever.One day you are winning,next day,you lose. :lol:

    Who Knows,from Now till April 13,Anything might happened to reading,WBA,Nott Forest.

    Like who would expect Nott forest to keep losing at away??? hahahas.

    Yup,talking about ability to fight back,that’s what happen to Pompey Vs.Hull Match.**Ouch** to Ian Dowie. ;)

  87. I normally really enjoy reading this blog. But not today. The racist stuff from NUFCELITE sickens me. As for him calling people ‘a noob’ perhaps he might enjoy this quote from the internet: noob
    A noob or n00b is someone that lacks intellegance or common sense, most people think that noob is a word used only in the online gaming world, but in reality it is becoming an ever popular word with teenage society.
    a noob could be simply a level 100 running round shouting ”WTF DO I GO!?” or someone calling someone else a noob and then getting hit with a brick, anyone can call anyone a noob, but normally they are noobs themselves

  88. Hi Jill

    Please rest assured it is being sorted :)

    Don’t let the minority of 1 or 2 cloud your judgement of us all :)

  89. despite the childishness being shown on this blog at times I enjoy reading it and keeping up to date with the news. Can’t understand what game some people were watching on here, first half and beginning of the second half were abysmal, frustrating and the lads couldn’t string 2 passes together. Bu the tenacity shown at the end of the game was like I’ve not seen since Sir Bobby’s days and he would have been proud of the lads. It’s good to finally see some pride and guts on display after the disaster that was last year. I’m no Ashley appologist but am thankful of his change in attitude and his support of Hughton. B1tching and moaning about him will do the club no favours, I’m not saying we need to forgive and forget, but the guy’s here for the long haul, no one is buying in the current financial market and given the possible buyers we could end up with (see Portsmouth or Man U who’s financial bubble is about to burst) I am happy for him to stay right now.
    Fantastic result today, again not happy about the first half performance, play like that in the premier league and we will get annihalated, however the second half was fantastic and I actually felt dissapointed not to win it!
    And the best thing to come out of this season? Andy C. What a player this lad is turning out to be, very Shearer-esque in a lot of his play, if he keeps improving on his performances as fast as he has done this season we could have a world beater on our hands. Don’t play for Scotland Andy, you will get a call up from England one day if you keep improving!

  90. contract talks to begin with a.carroll increase from 2 half yrs to 5yrs if you belive press reports

  91. ashley has told ch will be in charge for next yr once again if you belive press reports,or ashley

  92. Firstly, love the blog Toonsy.

    Took me a while to come looking for a blog again after Ed’s went pair shaped, but really enjoy your articles mate keep it up.

    RE Leon Best – my worry with him is that if he doesn’t net a couple before the end of the season, he’ll go into the PL devoid of all confidence and end up being a complete waste of space (and money).

    As someone already mentioned, maybe the best thing about bringing him in will be the kick up the ar$e it gave Carroll – playing the best football of his career and long may it continue!

  93. If I beleived all press reports, we would be:

    Owned by an arab billionaire
    Owned by an Indian telecoms billionaire
    Owned by someone who distributed Billy the Bass
    Signing Eden Hazard
    Just pipping someone in signing Raul
    Turned Zidane down

    And so on :)

  94. I’m gonna take Jill’s smiley face to me at 172 as a flirt.

    She obviously has good taste ;)

    Just joking :lol:

  95. Cullen @ 178

    Cheers man, it’s workyticket’s gig like, I just write some things from time to time.

    It’s always nice to have people new and old contribute :)

  96. canny goal by o!hare left foot.toon have had two good goals scored against us in last few games,but what can you do

  97. I have to say I find NUFCELITES attitude a bit strange as i had a bit of chat with him a couple of nights ago and seemed to be ok, generally calm and constructive. I do wonder if some people (not just NUFC) sometimes get into a mindset where they have to argue and just will not move on. These are the people who WUM’s like to target as they know they will always bite. I either ignore, laugh at them or with them, failing that I go off and sulk. (joking) :)

  98. hi lads! dont think CH is the answer for us in the prem. yes people will say yes or no but my point is that the young players with him in charge dont get a look in. ranger what does he have to do to get some playing time every other strikers have been given chances.look at the start of the season they were all injured just him left and he was better then what we had every1 of us were saying this he played looked the part and when they got fit left him out. buys best and other loans why and sorry kader is better then what we got and plays good nice left foot and can only get a game if they are injured. thats the answers i want from CH if they are good enough they should play.

  99. Scouting network looks up and running again. Looking at 2 spanish players now according to Sunday Sun.

  100. Mixed feelings about yesterdays result. I suppose coming from 2-0 down we have to be happy with a point, but we should not get ourselves in those positions against a team of poor quality.

    Though last season in the prem we would’ve lost 4 or 5-0 if we had been 2-0 down at half time.

    I think our lads are fitter than most of the other teams in this league and we seem to finish stronger in most of the games, so if we concede early then we always have a chance to come back later in the game. That’s 1 of the main differences between the PL and CC IMO.

  101. Why did Harper have to dive for the first goal? this reaaly annoys me about Keepers sometimes when a shot comes straight at you theres no need to dive just stick your bl**dy foot in the way.

  102. TF – And what if the ball spooned off his foot?

    The whole point of diving is so they can get the body behind the ball. Occasionally they bobble loose like yesterday but generally it works.

  103. toonsy

    The ball was coming straight at him along the floor not only did he spilt it but by the time he got to the floor it could of went underneath him as well.

  104. big willy@185 takes all sorts in this world as you know m8,just have to grin and bear it,aye i do remember the ration books you talked about the other day (sad isnt it) :)

  105. Aye, I gotta go as my missus wants her Guild Wars session. MMO’s arent just for kids!! ;)

  106. Micky Owen apparently still looks for our results and says it’s great to see us doing so well.

    He can take his well-wishing and ram it to be fair!

  107. Afternoon Toonsy, very nice job with the match review. Looks like you went to town a bit on the Carroll photo though. Moderation is the key ;-)

  108. Worky @ 199 well said I would hate to see here ending up like Ed’s did, as I class this blog as my 2nd home ;) and I dont want some tool ruinning it so that others wont visit.

  109. toonsy says:
    March 21, 2010 at 1:58 pm

    “What is up with it? Too big? Quality not right, too low/high?”

    It looks like it may have been too highly compressed in terms of the filesize and / or it has been a little overprocessed. We can do the art criticism in e.mails though. :-)

  110. Dave is at it now with his dog picture. I’ll have to do it now, just hope I put the right puppies on and not my mrs’s :lol:

  111. Big Dave says:
    March 21, 2010 at 2:10 pm

    “Worky @ 199 well said I would hate to see here ending up like Ed’s did, as I class this blog as my 2nd home and I dont want some tool ruinning it so that others wont visit.”

    That won’t happen Dave, though taking action has been slightly delayed recently.

  112. toonsy says:
    March 21, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    “Dave is at it now with his dog picture. I’ll have to do it now, just hope I put the right puppies on and not my mrs’s”

    I may have to change the avatars thing Toonsy, as the system we have is quite rudimentary, and doesn’t automatically shrink the images. People will still be able to upload their own avatars at “Gravatar” to use on here though. The problem is that people keep uploading huge images and animations which slow the pages down for everyone.

    http://en.gravatar.com/

  113. It aint me getting slow icedog, it’s my dogs unwillingness to move off her bed. Unfortunately she is the smae colour as the bed so I can’t get a good enough photo :)

  114. big dave,NO m8 dont change it,my sons mouth has been watering looking at it he loves them,pig dog as he calls them,mind at times he is strange :)

  115. Big Dave says:
    March 21, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    “Toonsy im changing mine back mate I just wanted to get it up to let ice see me dawg”

    Dave, see my message above about changing over to ‘Gravatars’ only. You can upload pics there for here. I’m trying to give people as much warning about it as possible and I will put a note about in the sidebar too.

  116. Big Dave says:
    March 21, 2010 at 2:56 pm

    “Worky I will try that out mate”

    If you get one there, Dave, the same image can be displayed on many different websites. Some of the users on here are already using them.

  117. Ice tell him I will get a better pic of him and put it up.
    Funny lots of people think they look like pigs :) but he is the best natured dog I have ever had. but his eye-sight isnt the best you want to feel the big barrel when he runs into ye, plus over the last few months his hearing is going but he is doing well for near 9 yrs old

  118. big dave,son says always thought you were a canny lad ;) he had one 2yrs ago but it died at 10wks old,could not talk to him for wks after,found out later breeder had bathed him before handing him over (dick)

  119. Icedog see when I got him he was 7wks old and kept in an empty shell of a car with no bedding or nowt except rain water and his own sh1t he was in a bad state. But has never looked back from that and he is a real loyal old thing, you want to see him try to play with the missus’s teacup Yorkie :lol:

  120. big dave,pity people were are not as loyal.
    just watched 3 games of toon,watched that simpson hard,sorry but for me he will never make a r.b.i know hes young but can see why m/u never re-called him when they were in the shit,maybe try elsewhere in res

  121. Icedog TBH at the start of the season he looked ok with Jose, Colo, and Taylor, but he should have done better yesterday for the 1st goal. plus when Sno I think it was lashed out at him it was because Simpson was pulling the shirt of him just before it, as I thought he was lucky he didnt get a yellow. I wonder what Williamson is like at RB

  122. Best RB I have ever seen in the Toon shirt:David Craig
    Can’t think any RW who ever got the better of him.

  123. Big Dave says:
    March 21, 2010 at 3:12 pm

    “Worky I have done that so what do I do now ? or is that it”

    You have joined Gravatar, uploaded an image and checked that it works ok? If so, that should be ok, but I haven’t switched over yet. I want to give people some warning and put a little message up in the sidebar for a while first.

  124. I think Taylor is good at RB but im sure he prefers CH and Williamson is and has been a canny player for us so we can maybe sort something out there

  125. Don’nt forget folk young Ranger is only 18, his day will come, but to ensure we get promoted as CHAMPIONS (second wont do for me)CH is playing strikers with a bit more experience. Yesterdays match, the first half was very disappointing, but the response from the players in the 2nd half was great, grit, determination and a willingness to fight to get something from the game.

    NUFCLITE keep your racist comments to yourself

  126. I meant LW up against David Craig
    Can anyone remember how Frank Clark got on against George Best? I cannot recall Frankie having many “stinkers” either,though at my age I don’t think I should trust to memory!

  127. TOM L,aye he was a good player,would”nt say he was the best ever like,maybe because i can go back wee bit

  128. TOM L,we might be on same wave length m8,frank clark we used to say he was the only guy that could run faster backwards than forward,mr clough liked him,went on to do good things for him

  129. big dave,think taylor has his eyes on full cap for england,had good reports from under 21s manager

  130. Very long and in general boring stuff, dogs, moving to Malta, the required racist, why dont you just e-mail each other !
    Have i got the wrong blog here , thought this was aboot football and in particular NUFC.
    Ganna watch the Chelsea game, leading one zip.

  131. icedog,I seem to be spending a lot of the time in the past!Perhaps I need a bit of Toon success to wake me up.
    Apologies Toonfolk

  132. Asim = toonfan =acrossthepond =anderson =man utd fan.When are some of you going to realies hes a man utd fan causeing trouble.His opions on selling guthrie and buying scholls whats the odds man utd get rid of scholes this summer. he is a man utd fan trying to get guthrie on the cheap.As for racist well beleive what ya like i dont give a damn.

  133. Chuck I take it your on your bad week, But then again you normally are very cheerful. How about if it bores you then why read it, do you not realise that you can skip bits out and just read what you want. As for watching Chelsea do that, but you dont have to tell us all after all its a NUFC blog.

  134. I would just ignore that asim if i was you NUFCELITE,i stoped reading what he had to say a while ago.Think ya spot with him.

  135. Chuck is a miserable get at times!

    “thought this was aboot football and in particular NUFC”

    Closely followed by

    “Ganna watch the Chelsea game, leading one zip”

    The irony :lol:

  136. Alreet guys, not posted for a while.

    Read some report today that there are plenty of ‘top’ managers looking at us wanting a crack if we go up, such as Hughes.

    Do people think we should keep CH as a goodwill gesture, or do we need to be ruthless and get a top class manager in to ensure we stay up a kick on and progress with this long term plan?

    I think someone like Hughes can bring in better young players and given a 5 year plan who knows what we could acheive.

  137. NUFCELITE! why are you sucking up to people or is it you making these new names up racist.

  138. Out of loyalty I spose NUFCELITE, I just pray that fat boy spends some money and gets what we need. I must say it is great to be linked with players again but now taken with a massive vat of salt!!

  139. Im quite hopefull for the summer raffio, Think we might be in for a decent summer transfer market.Hes got the scouts working on players to bring in.But wont nbe able to move on them til we are deffo in the prem league

  140. raffo @252

    I’ve only seen this on the NUFC Blog. Is it in one of the Sundays as well?

    I reckon CH has done a good job and there’s nothing to say that he won’t continue to do well next season, assuming he gets the backing he needs to build a team fit for the league we find ourselves in ;). I don’t think ‘goodwill gestures’ come into it.

    As for Hughes and Ericson – Sven might well still be a good club manager, and I wouldn’t mind seeing at the toon somewhere down the line. Hughes hasn’t really done anything though, has he?

  141. Big Dave says:
    March 21, 2010 at 6:04 pm

    Toonsy your spot on there I think of him as the Blogs resident Victor Mildrew.
    ————————————
    @ BD, surely the blogs resident Victor Meldrew is workyticket? :)

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