A walk in Brunton Park – Carlisle 0-3 Newcastle.

Posted on July 17th, 2010 | 144 Comments |

Best off the mark as Toon win 3-0.
Best off the mark as Toon win 3-0.
Pre-season kicked off properly this afternoon as Newcastle travelled cross country to Cumbria to tackle Carlisle in what was our first friendly match in the run up to the new season.

The game may not have panned out as easy as the headline or scoreline suggets and the Newcastle players will head home this evening knowing they have been involved in a game of football.

That is not a bad thing in my opinion when you consider our first Premier League match will be against Manchester United where that kind of experience will be needed. Chris Hughton took a near full strength squad to Brunton Park and that enabled him to field two complete sides, one for either half of the match, which will give everyone a fitness boost ahead our next pre-season game away at Norwich in a weeks time.

Some points of interest that I noted, one of which was Alan Smith wearing the captains armband, despite the presence of Kevin Nolan on the pitch at the same time. James Perch made his debut in the black and white stripes, or the white change kit to be precise, and Steven Taylor made his first appearance since January, which promptly came to an end after he exited the field of play on 81 minutes with what looked to be an arm or wrist injury.

The first half didn’t really produce much in the way of action for Newcastle United as they eased themselves back into action, although Peter Lovenkrands could perhaps have done better after he saw his 14-yard daisy-cutter shot easily cleared off the line by Mackem, Paul Thirlwell.

Carlisle had their own chances to break the deadlock as Jose Enrique cleared Ian Harte’s goalbound header off the line via the crossbar before Gary Madine was put clean through on goal only for Steve Harper to close down the striker and rush him into taking a shot, which ultimately missed the goal and landed on the top of the net.

So 0-0 at half-time, and that signalled wholesale changes for the Geordies although I believe that move was already pre-planned and not as a result of the lacklustre performance form our lads in the first half.

Still, it worked, and only two minutes into the second half Newcastle had the lead. Wayne Routledge released Leon Best who rounded the Carlisle ‘keeper and slotted home for his first goal in a Newcastle shirt, and that will no doubt set the alarm bells ringing in the red half of Manchester. Leon Best is coming, he is mint, and you should fear him.

I jest, but the goal would have done wonders for his confidence, despite the fact that the goal came against Carlisle, no disrespect intended of course. It wasn’t long before another Newcastle striker was handed a confidence boost as Nile Ranger cooly made it 2-0. Wayne Routledge got to the by-line and cut the ball back only for Ranger to stylishly backheel the ball into the net from six yards.

The contrast between first half and second half performances was vast, although it is only a pre-season game and not too much should be read into it. Never-the-less, a win is a win and will help to maintain both confidence and morale, although there will be sterner tests to follow during the pre-season period.

The game was pretty much over anyway, but with 16 minutes left on the clock young Haris Vuckic made it 3-0. Leon Best tapped the ball back into the penalty area for Haris Vuckic who trapped it with his back to goal before spinning and unleashing a left-footed shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

All in all, a solid start althoiugh the injury to Steven Taylor will leave a blot on an otherwise hassle free day. There is no word on it yet or whether Taylor was withdrawn as a precaution or because there is something more serious in the injury.

Howay the lads!

Carlisle – Collin (Caig 71); Simek (Kane 67), M’Voto (Wood 74), Harte (Swinglehurst 85), Murphy (Gibson 67); Berrett, Thirlwell (Cregg 46), Bridge-Wilkinson (Hurst 46), Taiwo (Robson 46); Curran (Zoko 46), Madine (Price 46).

Newcastle – First Half: Harper; Tavernier, Coloccini, Williamson, Enrique; Inman, Smith, Nolan, LuaLua; Carroll, Lovenkrands.

Second Half: Krul; R Taylor, S Taylor (Henderson 81), Perch, Ferguson; Routledge, Guthrie, Barton, Vuckic; Best, Ranger.

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

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Posted on by toonsy in category: Chris Hughton and Haris Vuckic and Leon Best and Nile Ranger and NUFC Match reports and Steven Taylor and Thoughts and reflections and Toonsy and Wayne Routledge , with tags: ,
Comment on this post

144 Responses

  2. Glad to see best,ranger n vukic score wud love to see these hav big parts to play this season, I am probably one of the only ppl on here who has always said best will come good, wud love to c ranger get his chance n vukic is jus class, id expect xisco n ameobi n kadar to start against norwich next week since they took no part in this game

  3. I think that with one goal against League 1 Carlisle, it’s a little bit too early to say that Leon Best has ‘come good’ ;)

  4. What is clear is that we need a back up for either wing and LB. Anything else would suggest there will be departures

  5. Its a start though toonsy a few more goals in pre season will do him good, I jus can’t c any departures apart from maybe xisco n a few young players goin out on loan agreed though its a must we bring in a lb n 2 wingers were really crap wen jonas n routledge r missing

  6. Van Aanholt, two bords with one stone. Can cover both Jose and Jonas, but then that would make sense so we can discount that :lol:

  7. Was Ameobi injured or has CH decided his time is up ? its says something when he picks both Best and Ranger and leaves him out . Great start to pre season , some young players getting playing time and scoring and us keeping a clean sheet even if it was only Carlisle united .

  8. Good call van Annholt wud do me nicely he may cost 3 to 4 mill like, I’ve got feeling juan albin may still happen which wud also provide cover on the left

  10. Hughton said on Sky Sports News that Ameobi picked up a knock but will be back on Monday. He didn’t say why Xisco was missing, however.

    Out of a 5 minute interview, those were the only questions answered. He’s like Teflon when it comes to avoiding questions.

  11. wickywoowoo says:
    July 17, 2010 at 4:37 pm

    “Out of a 5 minute interview, those were the only questions answered. He’s like Teflon when it comes to avoiding questions.”

    Aye it’s brilliant. Pisses people right off lol

  12. The daft blonde interviewing him even commented on it several times – including a comment of “You’re wonderfully vague, Chris”.

    He had a chuckle after that.

  13. Nowt like an enigmatic manager, the less you say the wiser you seem to be. Pity he can’t come out with something like “The seagulls follow the sardine boats” or whatever.

  14. As I said yesterday it was important to win today start as you mean to go on ;)
    Toonsy what happened chuckie has he been deleted, and any sign of the Dog today ?
    As for van Annholt CA said he was in the senior squad this season so I think we need to forget about him ;)
    Jay Jay happy 50th birthday for tomoro bud ;)

  18. There was a young left bk ment to of played well for chelsea today so there maybe hope yet of getting him

  19. the pains back,sorry i left quick,other nt,a buck deer showed its head at window,my a/bulldog (55kilo)were i was sitting jumped up and ripped one side of groin were i had opp,water to the eyes job,still hurting but can move bit better today.good result today,bad result yest west ham getting piqu for 1mil imo just up toons street

  21. Just got back from the match, talk about game of two halfs. First team/half Caroll, Colo, Jose, Harper and the 2 kids looked canny rest just not over fit I suppose. 2nd lot they all seemed good and up for it. Pearch looked alright and was very impressed with Vucik or however you spell his name. Ranger and Best tried hard as well, bur Routlage was the main man. Krul seemed quite good as well, but no where near Harper for all those who saw he should be 1st choice now. Looking forward to seeing us against some harder/better teams now

  22. TOONSY aye m8 had double herni job done on it 6/7wks,so one side open again :( must say my pet team in malta B/KARA won there champion lge game on wed :)

  23. Thing that gets about the C/L qualifiers is that no matter how well a little team does, they will always end up getting a bigger team. Luck of the draw I guess, although a cynic could suggest that perhaps it is fixed for the bigger teams to stand the maximum chance of getting through.

  25. Ah Ice I was worried about you lad sorry to hear about your Hernia tearing again but im glad your ok mate. Toonsy I sent you a msg but ye can bin it mate ;)

  28. Ice – Didn’t that Bogdanovic (?) come from the same sort of place? Like part time in Malta I mean?

  29. Ice my Daughter and her boy friend were over for the Holidays so I was kept pretty busy mate running them about here there and everywhere. but sure I allways have my mate Joey to keep me informed ;)

  30. 1st-half = complete lack of fitness, effort, fitness, urgency, shape.
    2nd-half = moved-up a gear, with routledge looking bright & joey keeping everything moving. Not sure of his name (played lb/number 41)looks about 12 but has good skills, is quick & gets his foot-in. How old is Vukic & what on earth did his mother feed him, he’s a monster & can play a bit. Really seemed to enjoy his goal, we must find away of keeping this lad.

  31. TOONSY he did m8,quick one true,m/f in that team wanted to come to toon,only 17yrs got english agent who signed him to 5yrs,had trial at arsenal and parma as he cant speak english left it to agent arsenel wanted him,waited 6mths nothing,i got on case for him found out agent had asked 1mil for the kid,now hes over 18 and still stuck with agent,poor kid,hate agents me

  33. I have to admit Sirjasontoon was spot on when he said we dont need to loan and develop Lansbury, Cleverley, Weiss ETC. When we have midfielders like Barton, Guthrie, Nolan, Wingers like Routledge and Spidey and Young talents like Vuckic and Gosling.

    The next targets for Hughton must be a Left back and a striker, Maybe a Right sided defender.

    Is Shane Ferguson the leftie at no 41 ??

  34. CC – Yeah, that’s Shane Ferguson.

    Ice – I knew he came from over there like

    Right, off to grab a takeaway curry now. Back in a bit.

  35. Noir9 nice to here Joey was having a good game as for Routledge I think he is just a natural live wire. As for the no41 I think it is a young Northern Irish lad Shane Ferguson

  36. BD @ 35, Joey was captain 2nd half & was keeping everyone right, always looking for the positive pass. Quite impressed with ferguson, if that was him at LB. If we had another right winger, I think routledge could play that “number 10 role”

  37. Complete game of two halves. Vuckic deserves some chances this season and by todays showing I think we might need him aswell.

  39. Yea that was shane ferguson wad he anygood he is a winger reallly, how did inman do

  40. Jay Jay ;) your only 2 yrs younger than Icedog and half the age of Toonsy, have a goodun anyhow :)
    Noir9 young Ferguson has allready played for the senior Norn Iron team I have seen him play a few times and he seems like he will make the grade although I dont think it would be a bad thing if he put a bit of weight on as he allways looks a bit on the small side ;)

  41. TOONSY think he was a serb living there,played for marsaxlokk in malta saw him play,saw better like

  42. BIG DAVE,always said you were the best looking on here :)awful job that taxi job,big hearted thats you

  43. Big Dave – If he needs to bit a bit of weight on I suggest he comes for a curry with me! Fooking stuffed!

  44. Ice 1 can only try ;) Toonsy I know the feeling mate I have just ate 3 1/4lb burgers lol oh did you get the Smudger pic :)

  47. Does anyone know whats the Hampden on Taylors injury ? Didn’t he suffer from a disclocated shoulder last season ?

  49. Dave – Only if Smudger scores :lol:

    Munich – Perch seems to think it isn’t too bad.

    Icedog – Aye, I heard about that. Who is leaving then? ;)

  50. Munich I dont think it is to bad mate according to Perch, but I know I disclocated my shoulder a few yrs back and anytime I hit it now it can be real sore for the rest of the day :( so maybe just precaution

  51. for my money will be player/coach two birds with one stone,wouldnt shock me if colla goes,(wages),or no one goes

  52. Icedog – Player/coach would be a goodun, it could be my Sunday morning article ;)

    Makes sense though. His wife is from here, he worked with Hughton for ages, is open to a move here and would cost nowt.

    Last season proved he still had it, despite his age. I reckon he could do a job for us if needed.

  53. just reading between lines in CH inteview,when asked about him,said with smirk on his face ” would be good for any club who could get him

  54. Icedog – Aye, I thought that aswell. For someone who generally doesn’t give a lot away it does seem that there is at least something there.

  59. BIG DAVE could give him some on rat-bag agents i know,thing is they have a lot of money from young footballers they might sue,means he will have too tap you for a sub.as you will have guessed they are my pet dislike

  60. I can’t see why Hughton would want Sol Campbell now when he didn’t want him this time last year. He is still expecting a big wage for someone his age and there are no guarantees he will play the same way for us that he does for Arsenal. He has been playing under a much better manager in a team with much better players.

  61. just wondering why newcastle never played a friendly over here in ireland i went to the shamrock rovers game last year and that was my first ever toon game i loved it!live here in the west of ireland ( mayo)and i have never been to sjp but i watch every newcastle match on the box and go on the internet for others..im hoping to move over there after im finished school and get a season ticket!

  62. Campbell to the toon would be a good move imo. Would probably be the end of Collo and his 65K per week salary …

    Toonsy, git yersel a drum in the Leazes corner mate, that would get the singing corner sorted oot !! The German fans can really pump up the volume. Oh for the old days of standing on the terraces !!

  65. Jay Jay I think you have mail :) sorry mate I dont really go on it that much I even had to ask the old Fella Toonsy how to send a msg. hope alls going well for ye mate, and hope the Bro is doing good

  66. Munich – That is some good fan action there man. Not a patch on the Turks though. They take bonkers to a new galaxy!

  67. Ice meant to say did you see the other nitght I got a big massive bite of the geezer that doesn’t bite.
    As for agents your right they are all a shower of Sh1te.
    What about Worky havn’t seen him on in ages I guess he is still working himself into an early grave

  68. BIG DAVE no m8 i didnt see much apart from one side of the old gut lol,had e-mail from worky to say he got dvd,having a lot of trouble re-pairing some gear

  69. BIG DAVE guess ime stuck in house (again)for a while,was due to go away next wk had to hit on the head,been trying to get some footage now on heats,proving hard,got some from old pal but were vids on the old beet-max format nee good like

  71. Thats good that he got it not as good that your gut is falling out :(
    Toonsy I was asking yesterday about the crest badge I got the wee Lad one today you were right it is the cloth one sewn on and the wee shit allready has it pluckered :twisted:

  72. Dave – My mate told me it wasn’t plastic, in fact it was the first thing he told me about the shirts lol

  73. NAY TOONSY cannot walk more than 10yds at mo,hard like when when used to 5mil twice a day normally v.fit,quack says 3wks before they will dee out for swelling,wor lass says take pain away leave swelling, sod

  74. Now its not like the last one fully stitched in its just cloth one sewn on. toons is there anyway on that facebook that you can stop peeps from knowing that your own as i have 4 or 5 ones wanting to chat ?

  76. CC as i told dave ime trying to get some footage of heats if i have any luck ill let you know m8

  81. Aye should be good if you can find some of the footage mate, Ive bought the DVDs of the final now from a bloke in Holland, Still eager to see this pop robson volley against sporting Lisbon though… :D

  83. CC was there a snow storm hit a game,could not see 2ft infront of yourself,dont think they had saw snow before lol,said before had some footage but it was old beeta-max form mat,nee good,will let know m8

  85. Yep that was the setubal match, There is footage of that because Robsons two goals from that game are on the 500 goals DVD (Which i was sad enough to buy)

  87. Its a good win and delighted to see youngsters such as Ranger and Vuckic on the scoresheet. Does anybody know where I can view the goals? Would be great to see Vuckic goal as I heard it was a good finish.

  89. thanks icedog but unfortunately I’m from sa so we only get skysports news certain times of the day and weekends there’s quite a bit of sport to show which means i’ll just have to check when its coming on again. thanks

  90. Routledge the star yet again, 3rd time lucky for the kid in the prem since leaving palace, Spurs random lucky dip transfer policy under Jol meant he didnt get enough game time.

    O’Neills teams are very hard to get into if your not a teachers pet look at Beye, Miles better than Young and Cuellar yet he couldnt get off the bench and has been listed, So that wasnt Routledges fault.

    Now with us he plays in a side which seems to suit him, His attributes are a pain in the arse to play aginst in any league, Pace, good first touch, great final ball, Decent passer when he cuts inside.

    Great little player.

  91. CC think part of his trouble was he liked a good time if you get my drift,seems to have saw the light now we hope,so should be top player for us imo m8

  92. Ha Ha! The Vitoria Setubal fiasco.. It’s the only Fairs Cup program I haven’t still got because it fell apart long before half time from extreme snow damage. Cracking game though, their lads had socks on their hands to stay warm. Hoorah for the old orange caserl!!! Don’t give me this jabberloony nonsense.

  93. I fully agree with the comments on Routledge. He’s done well since his signed for us and hopefully he’ll continue that form into the new season. He is one of a few players we can’t afford to get injured at this stage, more than most.

    Is there anyone who could upload the sky sports goals for me? I’d really appreciate it.

  94. AHMED4,havent got a clue m8,maybe if you can catch toonsy on line he might know if its poss,hes the brain box on this blog

  95. thanks icedog. I’ve found it interesting reading things on here since I found this website recently.

  96. AHMED4 this is a great site, normally very busy with debates,toonsy the lad that does the site normally puts up about at least 2 threads a day so feel free you will be wecomed,not many lads on tonight,might be drunk over result lol

  97. Aye sorry ice mate I’m getting some revenge on the wife for her shinanigans last night!!

    Can’t wait for the paper chat tomorrow

  99. I think the fact that Taylor looked like had be on the Ronald McDonald supersize diet would put off a few admirers… ;)

  103. ice,
    is that the word?
    Campbell might be a good coach & good back up i guess.
    Nippy forward & a lefty is what we really need.
    But we probably need a couple of coaches like.

  104. It’s a good way for Campbell to ‘take a pay cut’ & keep face & get a job after playing.
    ;)

  105. CLINT,aye m8 pace is a must,toonsy and me noted in C.H.interview when asked about S.C. he had smirk on face and said he would be good for any club!

  107. Oh, lovely news after an exhausting day – Best scores, great, I’m happy for the guy, I hope that Xisco will be given a chance as well. Good to see that some young lads were given a chance as well!

  108. Need vuckic signed up on a 6 year contract now or he will be gone in 2!
    Everyone at the club coaching wise claim he is the best they have ever seen by miles and will be the next hottest property

  111. ice,
    i reckon he would. :)

    ILM,
    they are so ‘on the ball’ that telegraph.
    They must read all the blogs to fill their back pages?
    ‘We know nowt, so we’ll try & get back on side with a ever so slightly less than derogatory piece on them’ routine!
    Excellent!
    :)

  114. Hope to hear something the morra. Not holding my breath though.
    Strange Dutch press saying jol is coming to the toon as he is about to complete on fulham deal?
    Great to see a few rumours hit the net and press.
    It keeps us Geordies alive

  116. I used to have R.Madrid Tv few years ago, so I had a chance to watch some Madrid games, at that time this guy looked decent, don’t know about now, didn’t have too much chances, I think. Tho’ we don’t really have a natural DM, we could do worse.

  120. Vuckic Barton Guthrie, main midfield 4 next season if have any chance of staying up.
    That’s if Barton managers to stay at the club

  121. De geruchten dat Martin Jol Ajax gaat verlaten worden steeds luidruchtiger. Eerder werd al gemeld dat Jol en Fulham akkoord zijn, nu blijkt ook Newcastle United te vissen naar de diensten van de Haagse oefenmeester. Volgens de Engelse media is het slechts een kwestie van tijd voor de deal officieel is met één van de twee clubs. Of Jol voorkeur heeft is niet bekend. The Magpies, zoals de bijnaam van Newcastle United luidt, promoveerde afgelopen seizoen van uit het Championship naar de Premier League.

    In een reactie van Ajax zegt de club van niets te weten. “Het is voor Ajax ook niet wenselijk als Martin Jol zou vertrekken. Daarbij heeft hij een doorlopend contract”, liet een woordvoerder weten. De reden waarom Jol weg zou willen uit Amsterdam is het verlies van 21 miljoen en het (aanstaande) vertrek van een aantal belangrijke spelers.

  122. Google translator:
    The rumors that Martin Jol is leaving Ajax are getting louder. Having previously reported that Jol and Fulham agreement are apparently still angling for Newcastle United for the services of the trainer Hague. According to the English media is only a matter of time before the deal officially with one of the two clubs. Jol or preference is not known. The Magpies, as is the nickname of Newcastle United, promoted last season from the Championship into the Premier League.

    In a response from Ajax says the club have no knowledge. “It is not desirable for Ajax and Martin Jol would leave. In addition, he has an ongoing contract, “a spokesman know. Why would Jol away from Amsterdam, the loss of 21 million and the (forthcoming) departure of key players.

    – I hope this isn’t true… Would be an awful thing to do to CH and media would destroy us… Probably just some way off rumour…

  123. It just gets mad when it comes to the TOON
    Wonder what delights the sunday sun and the rest have for us.
    Goodneet
    Howay the lads

  124. Ahmed4nufc says:
    July 17, 2010 at 10:05 pm

    I fully agree with the comments on Routledge. He’s done well since his signed for us and hopefully he’ll continue that form into the new season. He is one of a few players we can’t afford to get injured at this stage, more than most.

    Is there anyone who could upload the sky sports goals for me? I’d really appreciate it.

    —————————————————-
    About 2mins 45 secs in for the toon goals. :)

    http://www.skysports.com/video/inline/0,26691,12606,00.html

  126. Would like to see Campbell here, he’d be great for the likes of Kadar and Taylor to learn from and can still do a job at the back I think. He wouldn’t be a starter if he did arrive but he’s a great player to have around the training ground and is still a canny defender.

    As for the silly sunday links, they’re all quite amusing but I dont understand why the press assume we want 10 million midfielders at the club. You’d think churning out their nonsense they’d link us with a couple of strikers or something. We’ll be fielding 11 CM’s next season if their rubbish comes good, haha.

  127. Ross

    He would be a great addition Ross. I also think he could be a first team player as long as we rotate our CB’s like how Spurs do.

  128. Waddels mullet exactly which source did you find that jol is coming to the toon ? as a geordie living in the netherlands and fleuent in language i cant find it anywhere .

  129. guys,i’m getting word that we might be linked with want-away real madrid midfielder mammadou diarra!any idea on how credible that might be?i for one am sure we won’t be able to afford his wages.

  131. anybody here live in DUBAI??? Keen to find a bunch of Lads to catch some games with this year and a few pints of course…

  133. would ashley be that ruthless in dumping hughton,id be fookin gobsmacked if that came off..

  134. Hitman – Ask yourself this. Would Ashley dump Hughton (5k a week) and pay for an experienced European manager (£££ at the going rate)

    My conclusion, no :lol:

  136. I wouldn’t oppose it IF Hughton wanted it. At the end of the day, they did fine at Spurs as a pairing so we know they can work together, but I really really cannot see Ashley getting shot completely and hiring a more expensive option!

  137. If the thing about Jol is true then its nice that good managers would want to come here. I don’t want a change though. Hughton should get a nice new improved contract for the next few years so we have some stability for a change. :D

    Jol should be good for Fulham but I don’t think some of their players are that good. Still not keen on Zamora because one good season aside he has been rubbish. Don’t think of much of the likes of Baird and Etuhu either. He had them pulling above their weight rather than them being good players. Still got Duff, Schwarzer, Murphy and Hangeland though.

  138. Was talking about Hodgson getting them playing well by the way. ;)

  139. Thanks Tino11! Just seen the goals and Routledge looked superb in setting up the second goal. Vuckic’s goal was very instinctive and thats a good sign for such a young player.

    As for the Sol Campbell rumours, am I the only one who hopes it’s not true? We’ve got Perch, Taylor, Coloccini and Williamson so I wouldn’t want a 35 year old on our wage bill when there are players capable and younger out there.

  140. Jol in his own right at the toon would be good for the club imo. I just cannot work out the hierarchy scenario with CH, who has deserved at least the chance to manage the toon back in the big league. Cannot see Jol being a number two, plus why would he leave Ajax ?

  142. kin’el Routledge looked superbly fast for the Ranger goal ! From a standing start he is blisteringly fast !…or Frank Clark was playing left back for Carlisle…