Newcastle United vs Everton match preview

Posted on November 4th, 2011 | 11 Comments |

Howard Kendall you dirty old goat!
Howard Kendall you dirty old goat!
Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Date: Sat 5th November, 2011.
Kick-off: 12.45pm.
Referee: Andre Marriner (Linesmen: S Ledger & A Watts).
TV: Sky Sports 2 / HD2.

Hello and welcome to our preview for Newcastle United’s home clash with the “Toffees” of Everton.

Don’t forget that as per usual, I will also be doing our usual “what the managers are saying” review in the run up to the game, and also our regular “match banter” feature where you can make comments, share good streams for the game etc while the match is in progress. This should be going up around and hour before the kick off. Also as usual, we shall also be posting our report of the game some time after.

It’s always particularly hard to predict how a game will go against the Toffees at this stage of the season. Good team, good manager. However, they do seem to have a recent history of starting erratically in the early stages of the season, then finishing with a burst to either scrape into, or just miss out on a European place. If they started seasons they way they finished them, they would almost certainly have made the Champion’s League more often than that one time in 2005. Their start this season has been dire, and sees them currently lying in 16th. However it must be said that have had had some stiff opposition and some bad luck too so far.

Stats, previous matches etc…

Of course, with the Toffees lying in a lowly 16th, with the Magpies riding high in third at this relatively early stage of the season, it’s safe to say that our recent record has been much better than theirs, with the lads, as yet undefeated in the League, chalking up no less than four victories along with a draw in our last five games. Everton on the other hand have lost four of their last five games, winning only one (3-1 away against Fulham in their last game but one). Their last game was a 0-1 home defeat to Manchester United.

In our previous match against the Toffees at St James’, we lost 1-2 to the visitors, with Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka striking for the visitors, and Leon Best heading in our goal somewhere inbetween, all in the first half. The previous game however saw us getting a 0-1 away win in a game that will be remembered mostly that wonderstrike from Hatem Ben Arfa as the half time whistle loomed.

Although we lost our previous game against Everton at home, our record against them at fortress St James’ in the Premiership years has been extremely good. In a record of 19 games, we have won no less than 13, drawing 5 and losing only 3.

On the all time record front, Everton are one of the most ever present side in the highest division, and this will be our 161st meeting in all competitions. In the previous 160, freakishly, both sides have exactly the same records, with 63 wins, 63 losses and 34 draws each.

Although Everton have only kept one clean sheet in all competitions this season (against Blackburn Rovers), they do have the best tackle success rate with 81.5% (Opta).

If Newcastle avoid defeat in the Premiership for the elenth time this season, they will equal the record set by Kevin Keegan’s “Entertainers” in the 94/95 Premiership season.

Team news, squads, probable formations etc

My probable formation (if Tiote's still knacked).
My probable formation (if Tiote's still knacked).
On the Magpies’ side, while Obertan isn’t injured, he has come down with something and will definitely be out of the game. Although Hatem Ben Arfa scored one of the goals of last season from the flanks in our last game against Everton, Alan Pardew has said on more than one occaision that he doesn’t see him as a winger at all, so the multi sided Marveaux will probably be standing in. Midfield insurance policy, Cheik Tiote missed our previous game against Stoke City on Monday evening with a knacked knee and though he may start, he is still rated as “doubtful” and if he is out, Pardew will probably replace him with in form Guthrie on the back of some impressive recent stand in performances, unless he finally decides to give the more specialised defensive mid, Dan Gosling a shot. Personally though, I think that Pardew will probably go with Guthrie once again for the reasons mentioned above. So I’ve put Guthrie on the formation picture, but if Pardew and the quacks think that Tiote is ready again, in turn, I think that he will make his return.

Meanwhile on the Everton side, while there seem to no definite injuries, they have three doubtfuls who will be undergoing late fitness teats before the game, these are Captain, Phil Neville, along with Tim Cahill and Sylvain Distin, who, incidentally, used to be called “Sacha Distel” by Bobby Robson when he was a Newcastle player and Bobby was manager. They also have one naughty boy in the shape of midfielder, Marouane Fellaini, who will be serving a suspension for picking up five yellow cards already! Royston Drenthe should be returning from his suspension for a sending off in the League Cup against Chelsea.

Squads

Newcastle United (from): Tim Krul (G), Rob Elliot (G), Danny Simpson (D), Ryan Taylor D/M), Davide Santon (D), Shane Ferguson (D/M), Fabricio Coloccini (C, D), James Perch (D), Yohan Cabaye (M), Jonas Gutierrez (M), Sylvain Marveaux (M), Dan Gosling (M), Danny Guthrie (M), Hatem Ben Arfa (M/F), Mehdi Abeid (M), Haris Vučkić (M), Alan Smith (M), Demba Ba (F), Leon Best (F), Peter Lovenkrands (F/M), Sammy Ameobi (F).

Doubtful: Cheik Tiote (Knee),

Knacked: Gabriel Obertan (poorly), Mike Williamson (Ankle/foot), Shola Ameobi (Hamstring).

Everton (from): Tim Howard (G), Marcus Hahnemann (G), Jan Mucha (G), Tony Hibbert (D), Leighton Baines (D), Johnny Heitinga (D), Phil Jagielka (D), Sylvain Distin (D), Seamus Coleman (D), Shkodran Mustafi (D), Jake Bidwell (D), Aristote Nsiala (D), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (M), Marouane Fellaini (M), Tim Cahill (M), Jack Rodwell (M), Royston Drenthe (M), Ross Barkley (M), Adam Forshaw (M), James Wallace (M), Leon Osman (M/F), Louis Saha (F), Victor Anichebe (F), Apostolos Vellios (F), James McFadden (F), Magaye Gueye (F), Denis Stracqualursi (F), Conor McAleny (F).

Doubtful: Phil Neville (C, M/D), Sylvain Distin (D), Tim Cahill (M),

Suspended: Marouane Fellaini (M),

Well that about wraps things up for this match preview. All that’s left to say is:

Howay the Lads!

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1091 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

11 Responses

  2. Steve says:
    November 4, 2011 at 9:57 pm

    “The one nil win happened first so it was revenge at st james for everton!”

    Steve, that was quick! and you are right of course. I was just correcting that bit as you were writing that comment.

  3. I think we will be too good for them. We are unbeaten and confidence and team morale is at an all time high and they are 16th and not doing so well. 3-0 to us!

  4. Sylvain Distin who used to be called “Sacha Distel” by Bobby Robson
    SBR was a jem with names.
    When Shola was asked what Bobby called him he replied “Carl Court” – ?
    But one of my favourites was Big Jack Charlton’s world cup team listing when he named err Haughton, err Horton, err Houton and err… at which point he was told that he had already named 12 players, he burst out laughing & left – who else would have gotten away with it?

  5. newcastle fans, they all hated mike ashley who probably saved their club from certain financial death, now they are doing ok the fans go quiet on that front, amazing fans, blaming their saviour for their ills, when the team do ok choose to ignore the fact that they all hate mike ashley and will probably be praising him soon, absolutely shows whats wrong with football these days, poor poor fans

  6. Supermac, it’s a Northern thing, my mother was the same. If she saw something she thought was dirty on the TV she would usually say that it was “phonographic”, and when I told her she had a lousy memory, she once replied “you think I have scenic dimension (senile dementia), but I haven’t!

    Bobby Robson also used to call Laurent Robert “Lauren Bacall, and when he was interviewed about his time at Barcelona, he talked about working with “Pep Gladioli” (Pep Guardiola). When he talked about the time a doctor told him he had a malignant melanoma, he said “I thought he was a right back from Benfica”

  7. dave jones says:
    November 5, 2011 at 12:18 am

    Dave, try and find something better to do with your life. You’re wasting it posting comments like that on blogs.

  8. fellow toon fans im hoping we will finish atleast at second position if we have gone this far…wish the lads best of luck tomorrow

  9. still hate mike ashley and he does not get these results the team and manager do so stop talking bollocxxxx think we will win 3-1 ba score first this comment aimed at dave jones.

  10. MA took a massive gamble with OUR beloved club… That gamble has so far paid off, so yeah there was/is a great deall of distrust between Magpies and MA… Only time will tell for sure. I would like to see Gosling given a run for the first half and Marveux second half… HBA for Best come 60′ and Sammy for Ba come 80′!

  11. Altho we lost last time out we normally do well against them, I’m going for a two nil win. Have a feeling gosling will start on the right can run all day hard working will offer protection for simmo and ben arfa to start instead of best