Colo is looking good to go this season.

Posted on August 4th, 2010 | 170 Comments |

Colo - Looks like he is missing his knife.
Colo - Looks like he is missing his knife.
As pre-season begins to wind down, us Newcastle fans are starting to get a picture of just what fettle our current crop of players are in.

A lot of them still have a point to prove, not only to the fans, but to themselves as we embark on our return to top flight action after a one season absence. Fabricio Coloccini is one of those who has a point to prove, and the way he has played during pre-season indicates that he could well prove the doubters at Newcastle wrong this season.

Colo looked fantastic against his old club last night, and he looked fantastic for large parts of last season. In fact, if you think back to ‘that’ season, he didn’t start off too badly either and looked pretty much fantastic in the first ten or so games. That was until WW3 broke out on Tyneside and the good ship Toontanic start to sink, along with Coloccini’s confidence.

As the confidence drained away from him, aswell as others, performances ultimately suffered. The £10 million defender found himself dropped to the bench for a few games after making some silly errors. We were relegated, and for all the world it looked like Colo would be off to pastures new having endured a season that will be remembered for it’s torrid end and off-field troubles rather than it’s hopeful beginning and Colo’s assured performances that went with that.

He didn’t leave though, he stayed and vowed to fight to get the club back into the Premier League, which he helped us to do whilst becoming a bit of a fan favourite in the process. I won’t lie, Colo made errors last season, but can you name me one defender who didn’t, at any level? Mistakes happen, they are part and parcel of the game, and if you take them out of the equation then it is clear that Colo had a fanstatsic season in the Championship.

The Premier League is a step up though, and now Colo has to prove that he can cut it at the top level. The way he has started off this pre-season has impressed me to be honest, and he certainly looks like he is on a mission to prove the doubters wrong.

Can he do it? I believe so, and I think he is good enough to do so. Colo has played at some big clubs across Europe, in Champions League games and allsorts, he knows the score. Let’s see if this time he can prove he has international class, the class that earnt him a move to AC Milan, the class that has led to him earning 33 caps for Argentina.

If he shows that class for us this season, I’d let him shag my wife!*

*Apologies to Mrs Toonsy, if you read this…

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

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170 Responses

  1. One of my favourite players last season. Calm and assured and always looked solid no matter who was alongside him.

    Yes he did make errors (and I am sure he will continue to make errors this season) but he’s only human after all … !!

    I bet he’s looking forward to proving that he is good enough for the PL. Let’s hope those around him can also step up to the mark.

  3. Colo has proved me spectacularly wrong since that fated first season.

    And it’s not often I’m wrong…

  4. Glad someone remembered that Colo started ‘that’ season in top form.
    Top player, great attitude too.
    Has stuck by the Toon, when plenty doubted him.

    Go Colo!

    Outside bet for El Capitano?

  8. Good article Toonsy. Have full confidence that Colo will be our rock this year and as for any mistakes I can remember Vidic, Ferdinand & Terry producing a few last year, dosent mean they arnt quality defenders it just means it happens to the best as well.

  11. What was my assessment of last night like?

    I thought I was pretty positive?

    In fact, I was part of the ‘enthused’ group really.

  12. The one i read from A.N. other site.

    Started off relatively positive, then fell away into skepticism/cynicism.
    Then when i saw your name on the bottom, i thought….
    ………..Ah!

    ;)

  13. bowburn,
    it just seemed a bit of a turn around after what i saw you write on here.

    I’m just yanking your chain mate.
    :)

  14. id have his name on this seasons shirt, but it would cost me too much, £££ each letter. ;)

  15. Toonsy just a litebite was it?….4 large bigmacs meals then off to the chippy for a kebab? ;-)

  16. Ha!! I get ya dude.

    That’s tickled me man. I can’t really argue with that.

    I’m always careful not to be too positive, unless really warranted ye kna?

    Coupla times last season I let loose when we went to town on someone.

  18. bowburn,
    cool man,
    had y’going there, hey?
    :)

    Keep the faith brother, as if y’needed any encouragement.
    :)
    ;)

  20. I’m going the other way at the weekend, back up to sunny Durham.
    :cool:
    But without the shades, probably.
    :)

  21. Have a gud un bbm…….that link isn’t working on mine.

    Anyone going to Glasgee on Saturday?

  22. richie,
    i wish, i’ll be still driving up the A1 by kick off.
    Drat, double drat!
    :(

  24. It looks canny anyway rich. Never been though.
    Going for 3 nights for a mate’s wedding without the missus whoop whoop!!! (she’s bridesmaid elsewhere tomorrow for some mackems and also Wilf Rostron’s son, although not everyone will remember him).

    So I am a free man. Not like that mind, but you know, no nagging and do what I want. Sweet.

    Mind you CLiNT, Durham is warm and still wonderful.

  25. Not sure if this has been reported but on the French site Le Equipe:

    Ben Arfa finally to Hoffenheim?
    Some elements of the workforce are also awaiting departure. Some elements of the workforce are Also Awaiting departure. Hatem Ben Arfa could quickly move to … Hatem Ben Arfa could “Quickly move to … Germany. Germany. The leaders met Tuesday Hoffenheim Jose Anigo and the player’s agent. The leaders Hoffenheim Jose Anigo is Tuesday and the player’s agent. They are willing to put the sum of five million euros on the table to secure his services. They Are Willing To put the sum of five million euros on the table to secure Loved services

    Google Translation. :(

  26. Twatford player, mackem?

    Aye,
    Durham’s a canny place like.
    Ganner show the bairn some of her Geordie heritage ower the weekend.

  27. Well 33 caps for Argentina says it all really , he certainly is better than a lot of cb’s we have had down the years . I think the combined top level international expeirence of him and Campbell will see us have a fairly solid defense this season.

  28. That’s the one. Take her to my mate’s coffee house (Leonard’s) down by the river and get her a raspberry and white chocolate muffin. They’re the dog’s.

  30. We’ve got the best looking defense we’ve had for years, if not decades atm.

  31. with ya on the no nagging part bbm..bliss.
    I wish I’d got a ticket for the Rangers game now,could just go up and go in the home end,if I buy the 2nd strip I’ll blend in nae botha :lol:

  32. We might lose on saturday like, trying to avoid injuries.
    They won’t want us beating them at hyem.

  34. Clint@30

    Craig (Craggs) – Burton (MacNamee) – Moncur – Clark

    ’nuff said…

  35. I’ll settle for a decent performance with no injuries again. Even if we did lose it may keep us on our toes a bit and make us that bit more pumped up for Man Utd.

  36. Just wonder if the starting 11 against the gers will be the starting 11 against man u .

  37. wouldnt have thought so mate, probably will make quite a few changes imo at the gers, see a few of the kids. plus its 12 days away till manure

  38. @Axel

    Think we have started to see CH gradually move towards giving his first 11 more minutes together so I think the Rangers match we will see pretty much the first 11 but we will make subs and change it about a bit during the game to keep them fresh and give others a bit of playing time.
    Also heard someone say there may be another match arranged between this and the man u game as it is over a week between them with it being a Monday night game against man u..

    Personally would like to of seen Vuckic given a little more time to impress, seems obvious he is not going to figure lots this season, maybe a few sub appearances and only start if really needed with injuries.

  39. Aye spotlight kid,
    can’t argue with that.

    Top name mate,
    Beefheart rocks, in a wonky kinda way.
    ;)
    Lick my decals off, baby!
    :)

  40. He will probably give Harper and Krul one half each , it will be interesting to see which formation he goes with 442 or 5 across the middle and i think the new captain will be the one that start s against the gers with the armband on . My money is on Nolan as captain .

  41. Toonsy
    please mate do you think you could do one of your away fans guide to Ibrox for saturday. found those last year most helpful.

    If there are any tartan bloggers out there who want to share tips and hints on the best places to get refreshments please advise.

    first time visit to ibrox and not a clue what to do once i get off the train

  42. Don’t if anyone seen the chronicle today but houghton refused to comment on ben arfa biggest indication yet that a deal could b close, when houghton won’t giv any comment it usually means we’ve jus about got the deal done

  44. BTW,
    anyone notice Joey’s ‘little salute’ after netting the winner last night?
    ;)

  45. If it is between us n hoffenhiem for arfa I’ve been checking on them n they finished 11th last season so neither of us can offer European football, are ground holds 52,000+ there’s hods 30,500, over 20,000 more that’s gotta go in are favor, we need to ginola n robert n the blower to him n tell him how good it here

  46. @Davy – They can offer far greater wages to him than we can due to there owner. That’s why there agent is trying to get him over there. I hope we do get him though.

  48. Ben Arfa has said he wants to come here, but his agent/relative wants him to go to Hoffenhiem. Hence his club coming back to the table with us to try and reach a middle ground. That’s what the French press have pretty much said anyway.

  49. The fact is no one knows what r wage limit is everyone is jus guessing n he is young n french football dosent pay great wages so we hav a chance, n if reprts r true he wants to come here

  50. Hoffenhiem can do all they want, once a player makes his mind up were he wants to go he usually gets his way

  52. @Davy – This is Ashley we’re talking about so that usually may not apply :lol: I’m not holding my breathe, but I would love to see him in a toon shirt.

  53. Just watching Look North & its good to see strachan getting his players used to playing in-front of all those empty red seats.

  54. In report in the french paper it said it wasn’t money behind his descision it was football n he wants to play in the premier league They can’t offer him that + looks like cleverly goin to bolton

  55. hi all im new,been supporting the toon since 1985!

    i reckon we have as good a chance as any,if not more of a chance because if all acounts are true the boy wants to come here.when it all goes quiet at sjp thats when i get excited! also think that if we got bellers back from city then we’d be laughing,imagine bellers making the great return to fire us to mid table safety and then push on next year? please ash its time to splash a little higher that usual.if we can spend 5mil on xisco then we can spend 6 on arfa surely?

  56. Alreet salty,
    welcome aboard mate.
    Bellamy is about the only ex player i would take back atm.

    We reportedly had a 4mil offer rebuffed, don’t know if that’s in quids or eurodollars like.
    So…………………..

  58. Clint……..I’ve said before,Bellamy is an obnoxious little sh!t……..but I’d carry him on my back to St James’ (even with my knacked shoulder)

  59. Clint, is it worth trading relative harmony in the squad for the signing of Bellamy?
    My mate is a Norwich fan and he said they used to lock Bellers in the bog on the team bus as he was such a pain in the arse and he hasnt changed his ways, remember, this is the player who missed countless games for Newcastle and then went to play for Wales only to return injured.

  60. CLINT bad time for me you comeing up to durham now after my opp,can limp about 10yds at the mo lol,would like to have met up for a drink and yarn,next time i hope eh ?

  61. Houghton give comment twice last week on arfa now he won’t comment at all which cud mean deal is nearly done, if we had no chnce of gettin him he wud giv is usuall there’s nothin in that one reply that he gives for the made rumours

  63. Aye lads,
    i was gonna concur with richie, but bbb put up a persuasive
    argument there.
    Mmmm!
    Tough call.
    I’m torn now, y’bazza.
    :)

    ice,
    that would be cool brother, we’ll have to arrange that sometime mate.
    ;)

  64. DAVY got a point there,toonsy saw the same with the cambell move after game last sat game,might be something in it

  70. CLINT,ime the stick m8 5ft11,10stone been like that since 16yrs(greyhound breed),we will try next time you come up,divint bring your boots like got nee dubin left just used the last :)

  71. Hopefully we will see david craig on ssn in the next 48hours sayin we’ve got a major coup

  72. ice,
    you got a good couple of inches on me like, but about the same weight(wet, with arl me clobber on).
    Aye, i was fast as f*** back when.
    I’ll spare y’me rusting skills mate.
    :)

  73. CLINT next time for sure m8,i ment with my top coat on too,heavyist part of me is my pony-tail,just under 11sec for 100yds,so we must be the same,few yrs back like

  74. you got a good couple of inches on me like…………er steady on you 2 :shock:

  76. richie – alreet mate. Wasn’t being rude for not responding on the Whittingham thread earlier – just haven’t been able to get on the blog all afternoon. Anywho – its all good.

    Cropper – if you’re out there – I might use your suggestion for a title for my blog: “Chicken Chats Sh!t!”. Classic mate. :lol:

  77. How richie,
    behave!
    :)
    800m to cross country was my forte like.
    Bust records running on grass in baseball boots.
    You shoulda seen their faces.
    How did y’do that kidda?
    :)

  78. Buda – If you would like an away guide I am sure I can do one for you all. Got a few tips off some Rangers fans, who have actually been helpful and have said which bars are good/to avoid etc :)

  84. nee big dave the neet,forgot its wed thought he might stop mid count to wish toonsy h/birthday like

  86. I thought it was good in parts Clint,though when we do bad in pre season games I say they mean nowt so cant really say any different when we play ok.Thought Colo,Tavernier and Perch to a degree looked ok

  88. CLINT i did m8 thought the spanish lads were half a yard fitter but its pre-season,still say we need a couple in,nice to see we didnt hoof -it doon the middle like we done a lot last yr

  89. Aye,
    me too.
    Defense looked good.
    MF was ok too.
    Carroll looked a bit off the pace though.

  90. overall good run out against a decent side,beat the Ger’s on Saturday and that will set us up nicely.

  93. aye carroll will find pl centre halfs a tougher nut to crack,one of the two we need should be a striker imo

  94. bowburnmag says:
    August 4, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    “Tell me an occasion when I was wrong CLiNT!!”

    Try reading through some of your old ‘blogs, Bowburn. ;-)

    You do know a bit about footballers though, I’ll give you that.

  95. Let’s just hope he isn’t complacent/overawed now he’s got the no. 9 shirt.

  97. i worry a bit about our lack of pace up front when comeing up against the better defensive players and m/f with a bit of guile

  99. icedog says:
    August 4, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    “i worry a bit about our lack of pace up front when comeing up against the better defensive players and m/f with a bit of guile”

    Lovenkrands can shift a bit, Icedog.

  100. Icedog

    I though the only downside from the match was the lack of pace ad movement up top, Carroll looks lost when Loverman or a player like him aint doing his running for him

  101. Toonsy @78
    That would be the bees nees mate if you did a guide.

    Impressed with last night.
    What struck me was the pressure we put on them when they had the ball compared to the PSV game. Nolan, Smith and Guthrie together are a little pedestrian

  102. Buda – I’ll get on it tomorrow mate. Just having a wee birthday drink at the mo and having the night off chilling and chatting :)

  104. WORKY no hes not slow but has he got the heed for this level of the game,hope he proves me wrong,but the ones that do will be out of our budget,just wishful thinking on my part,we would all like a rolls when we can only afford a ford escort

  105. Why thank thee kind sir ;)

    Does anyone think Perch is getting a raw deal from that window licker off Nufc mad, Who for some reason thought he was playing right back last night… :roll:

  111. Icedog

    Would Ben Arfa not be classed as that sort of player, Im certain that Hughton would use him as a number 10 more than a wide player with Barton/Nolan/Guthrie in midfield.

    ————-Guthrie—-Barton———————
    —Routledge——-Ben Arfa———–Gutierrez—-
    ——————–Carroll————————–

    Like that^^^

  112. i wonder if he’s on about ryan taylor,because i cannot get away with him.i dont rate him at all,joe kinnear must have had a lack of oxygen to the brain signing him.

  114. Ben Arfa was probably never comin here so nobosy should be getting their knickers in a twist.

    As for Colo, he still has it all to prove for me – Although I think he has improved (Though it could have been due to playing against shite players in the fizzy).

  115. CC would love to think that m8,but would c.h. use him as play-maker,they say he can do both but tends to spit the dummy from time to time

  116. i see the daily mirror are running a piece on us and west brom fighting it out to get arsenal youngster henri lansbury.

  119. spurs are supposedly in talks with yannick djalo,i always find it funny that whenever we are linked with a player,he goes to spurs.does ashley put the spade work in for them lol?

  120. By the way, not that anybody should be listening to the press, how disappointed would people be if we got Lansbury instead of Ben Arfa?

  130. I dont think i saw Lovens pen last night either, Just him running back to the half way line.

  132. Watching the Sir Bobby golf day on Sky.

    Shearer’s giving some great anecdotes about him…

  134. Aye even Barton said PL was the best pen taker but cos it was a friendly he wanted to take it :roll:

  139. Andy Carroll should have took the penalty , their is no way Barton would have tried to take the ball off him :)

  142. Right guys whats with the disrespect towards Bartons mustachio!!!

    Sporting one myself I can vouch for the grace and elegance it brings to him and his game! Man up lads… you too could look and feel like magnum p.i :P

  143. Did anyone address this already, but who was JB giving the salute to? I am guessing one of the players was probably giving him stick before the last PK…”Don’t flub it again, Barton.”

    Just curious if anyone knew.

  146. “Cleverley going to Wigan on loan apparently”

    CH is now going to have to pull some major rabbits out of his hat if we’ve lost the chance to take Cleverley on loan because we couldnt guarantee him games ?

    If CH is seriously telling me that he’d rather play Best than TC on a regular basis then I’ll have to take him to to Specsavers pretty damn quick.

  148. Toonsy-

    Careful what ya wish for mate!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

    (although, I must say, Toonsy mon frere, Mrs. Toonsy is quite the looker! Ya done well for yersel like! :lol: )

  149. @ 144…I just thought it was hilarious to see. I am not sure that would make it through the censors here in the States. Perhaps I am wrong.

  150. Colo to score 15 goals this season, 23 assists, 184 deflected shots…. and one epic shag. :D

  151. I wouldnt take anyone on loan that we had to guarantee games to like,tho would liked to have seen cleverly here.

  153. TC’s best position is wide right or left so it wouldn’t have been a direct comparison between him and Best but for all the obvious reasons Cleverley has far more to offer than a lot of our current midfield including Jonas and is streets ahead of Strolla and Best. Just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me unless CH is lining up something else ?

  155. aye he’s a good player Andy,like i said tho no manager should promise any player games……..oh well maybe CH has an ace up his sleeve? heres hoping.

    OHurley…been at the shine again? ;-)
    and on that note I’m away to bed to dream about Leon Best scoring the winner at Old Trafford !! whey it is the theatre of dreams :lol:
    neet lads.

  156. If Cleverley has indeed gone to Wigan, then we have to hope that theres a backup plan. It would be a terrible thing to think Wigan are a bigger draw than us

  159. Is it me or what???? :(

    How come when i watch Man United thrashing Airtricity League XI 7-1, Owen looks class,his “Apparently” goal is class act. 8O

    And we shall be really careful and mark well Javi Hernandez,again he looks great in the match.

  160. Yes saroof.but i basically heard it from the english media and nobody hear is reporting it too much.and this guy is hardly known abt in india,the papers tried to do a background check on him and cant explain his wealth.all they know is that he owns a small sports related company.sounds fishy.why do you ask though?

  161. With regard to the subject of Cleverley, its a strange stipulation to guarantee him a first team place where ever he ends up on loan, what about if his form drops and whats wrong with fighting for your place?
    He is a good player but he is a ManU player, dont see the point in paying a fortune and bring him on for them, it would be different if it was a loan with a sale at the end of it.

  162. Italian press reporting we’ve won the race to sign Ben Arfa……..dunno if they’re as bad as our media or not but fingers crossed eh?…………….we live in hope.

  163. I dont think it is strange at all, I would like to think if we send Ranger out he would have a similar stipulation. Theres no point sending someone out to just sit on the bench.

    Im more bothered that we have lost out on a player who would provide very good cover in the positions I think we need it most, the wings. I would like to think this is by design and we have something else lined up and not that we have lost out due to indecision and lazyness.

  164. twww.tuttomercatoweb.com/?action=read&id=222315

    as richie said, the link to us winning race for ben arfa

  165. Then lets hope so Richie fella then thats the reason we havent gone for Cleverley. Maybe the higher powers at the Toon are more Cleverley than we give them credit for ;-)

  166. bbb…..I wouldn’t even guarantee Messi a starting place,where would be the incentive for the player in training not to mention how the morale would be affected in the squad especially players in competition for that position.

  167. Raffo :lol: ……..yeah Raffo we would try and stipulate the same ourselves and maybe it’s the done thing…just wrong imo

  168. it s just that i was surprised……they were sayin that he was willing to bid 300 million and pay out the debts…..why would he ever go for blackburn

  170. Cos Blackburn are cheap like the buggie Saroof, in football terms obviously. About 150million for the club and its debts of 20million apparantly, whereas our debts to Ashley are 110million ish and then the club on top. It would be nice to have some rich guys sniffing around, but better the devil you know for me at this stage