Newcastle United Vs Manchester United: Player ratings!
Posted on January 6th, 2012 | 32 Comments |
They were never allowed to settle on the ball, from the off. Newcastle also took the game to them, showed no fear whatsoever, gave no respect and pressed on with their own game regardless of what Man U brought to the party.
It wasn’t as if they had a depleted team, or even squad. When you looked at the team sheets, you would be forgiven for feeling pretty apprehensive, if not a little queasy. That didn’t seem to bother the Lads one iota though as they showed their intension to play a quick passing game, pushing forward as often as possible. The recent overuse of the long ball game was quelled, but it was used to good effect to catch the visitors on the break.
Newcastle made Manchester look bad by destroying their rhythm and dictating the feel and pace of the game. As the game wore on Manchester started to look more and more desperate as they searched for the solace and inspiration of a goal. But this in turn saw them spiral further into the vortex of Newcastle’s control. As the game got further away the collective loss of temper of the reigning champions was palpable and they were fortunate not to garner more than two yellow cards. Even with the relative leniency of the officials, mostly the referee, Howeird Webb, there was still very little positive to be gleaned by anyone in red on the night.
And this is why…
Tim Krul – 8:
Didn’t really have that much to do, but what he did have to do, he did well.
His clearances and distribution have both markedly improved of late, which is great to see. He’s obviously worked on this aspect of his game. He looked a little lost when Rooney almost got one back, but Danny Simpson ably covered for him on the line. Tim loved him for that! He also got an assist for the 3rd goal with a massive if wind assisted kick and claimed a well earned clean sheet against the reigning champs.
Danny Simpson – 8.5:
Some top defensive work from the birthday boy up against his former employers.
He didn’t put a foot wrong that i could see. His stop on the line saved Tim Krul while preserving our clean sheet. So that’s one in each of our games v Man U this season. The lad obviously was playing out of his skin, fully committed and showing what he can achieve when he gives his all, well done Danny and
Happy Birthday kidda!
Captain Coloccini – 8.5:
What can I say about Captain Colo that I or anyone else hasn’t said already?
Rock solid, inspires confidence, organizes, puts his foot on the ball, puts his foot in, spreads the play, keeps it on the ground, keeps it simple, keeps his head. Did Man U have a centre forward on the pitch?
This guy is one of the best Captains this club has every had. His cool attitude is infectious.
Mike Williamson – 8.5:
Since he’s been back from injury he’s done little wrong while adding some much needed height, steel and understanding to our central defence.
He continued in that vein in this game, winning balls and getting rid of them quickly while resisting the urge to hoof. With his partner Colo, he nullified the Man U attack throughout the match. Nothing spectacular just no-nonsense defending expertly done. It’s a real compliment to him from me to say that I hardly noticed him. Great shift in his 3rd game back from a long lay off.
Davide Santon – 8.5:
Davide looked like he ‘arrived’ in this game.
He’s been gently aclimatised to the English brand of football and this match was an excellent point of reference for him. Smooth and cultured with the ball, economical in his passing and marauding when moving forward. He takes the ball through midfield or down the wing with ease. Not unlike Colo in his refusal to lump it. I was wondering whether his languid italian style would cope with the hurly-burly nature of a prestigious Premier League encounter like this. He passed with flying colours! Welcome to the Toon Davide!
Get him on the team sheet!
Cheick Tiote – 8:
Ooo! Controversial.
While Tiote came on strong and helped win the midfield battle along with Cabaye, for me, he was still dwelling on the ball a little too long at certain points. He put one or two of his team mates under pressure with the odd slightly under hit pass and turned into trouble in the dangerous 30 yard to edge of the box area. In saying that he still produced a great performance and bossed the defensive midfield. He was very unlucky to be cautioned and it seemed that his reputation for hard tackling preceded him with not only ref Howard Webb, but also Man U.
He will be missed when he leaves for Africa.
Cabaye – 9.5:
What a game from this legend in the making!
Totally grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, blocked every pass, cut out everything, broke up their passing to the point of perfection, passed quickly and sensibly, bombed forward but never left the defence exposed. The energy of this guy is a joy to behold and he must have covered ever blade on the Saint James’ Park pitch. Displaying guile, toughness, stamina and die-hard attitude, he was completly tuned-in to this game and his amazing free kick goal was the cherry on the top of a cake of dynamic midfield prowess. It’s remarkable how similar his goal was/is to the one he scored v Blackburn in the League Cup. Vive la France!
My Man of the Match.
Jonas – 8:
As per usual, he worked his socks off.
Backing up the defence, creating an outlet either from our own corner flag or down the wing. Their defenders looked worried as hell when he was on the ball. His calmness under pressure in a tight spot is so frustrating for the opposition that they inevitably end up diving in at him, winning us precious free kicks. He didn’t get to attack that much but was an integral part of a winning midfield nonetheless.
Ryan Taylor – 8:
Moving to a more familiar right midfield berth for this game, Ryan looked at home. Got stuck in and didn’t let anyone down.
He chipped in with a decent free kick and a few decent corners that pressured their goal mouth. A fair bit of his work was taken up defending, but that’s something he’s got used to this season and I must say it’s helped his overall game.
Shola Ameobi – 8.5:
This was one of those games where Shola shuts a load of detractors up.
He held up the ball expertly, pulled off back heels and was a willing and effective foil for Demba Ba. Assisted Ba’s goal and took untold knocks from their back line. He genuinely seemed to unsettle their CB’s with his presence. He got no protection from ref Webb and was constantly climbed on and hacked and pushed, but he got up and put in a performance. He tired slightly towards the end and was replaced but not before he’d had a say.
Demba Ba – 9:
What a goal, again! This lad only seems to score top class goals.
When you (and opposition defences) think there’s nothing there, he does something amazing with skill, class and beauty, then puts it in the back of the net. Ran all night long and never looked like stopping. He scared the you know what out of their whole back five. Man U quickly had to resort to chopping him down to stop him. It was most disappointing that Webb found it in himself to ignore a clear penalty on 25 minutes, but he wasn’t to be denied. His goal was text book turn, improvise, volley first time, all in one movement. Fantastic! This guy is our new No. 19 legend! He is going to be sorely missed for a month or so, what a player! Get me some strawberry syrup!
We love you!
Subs:
James Perch: came on for Cabaye in a massive game for him. He did make a couple of early mistakes but he put his foot in too.
Leon Best: Replaced Shola and didn’t get much time to do much as we were being pressured at the other end by this point, Although he did enough in their box to upset Lindegaard and Jones into a rick for our 3rd goal. Funny!
Gabriel Obertan: Came on at the death and got himself a win against his old employers, he must have loved that.
Right, that’s 4 points from Manu this season, which is nice!
Alan Pardew – 9.5:
It seems a bit churlish not to give the bloke a 10 and maybe I’m wrong here, what do you think? I think he judged it just right, impeccable!
Like I said on an earlier blog (as did Chuck TBF ;) ) Man U were there to be attacked, AP seemed to be on a similar wavelength. While we did score from a couple of punts and a free kick that actually belies the greater amount of proper football we played. It was the correct mix of football and “route one” when necessary. He shored up the defence to see out the game and while we were pressured at the end we never seemed to drop too deep and always scared them when we won the ball and played a useful out ball.
The team was obviously geared up perfectly and won this game, it was not handed to us.
The officials – 6.5:
Am I being generous ‘cos we won?
I really feared the worse when I saw the officials for this game. Generally, they did nothing to alter my initial cynicism, sadly. Howard Webb, not helped by his (un)able assistants seemed to allow Man U every opportunity to survive this match. How Valencia wasn’t given about 4 yellows in the first half alone was a mystery of corkscrew proportions. Why wasn’t it a pen? How did Giggs not get a yellow for his hack at Demba? Why were their center backs allowed to climb all over Shola and Ba?
All this and more will probably never be revealed, ever!
Oh well! By the by, I suppose?
Toon Army – 10!
When a virtual full house (52,299) rocked up to SJP on a cold, wet and blustery Wednesday evening in January to face the reigning Premier league champions, doubtless they weren’t expecting such a monumental effort from the lads in Black ‘n’ White. But they seemed to sense pretty early on that this could be a historic night and got right behind the team like only a Geordie crowd in full participation can.
What a noise! What an atmosphere! What a crowd! What a game!
What a result!
For Bowburn-Peace!
NUFC Blog match report and match highlights and post match interviews.
NUFCBlog Author: CLiNT FLiCK
Cut me in half & it'll say Newcastle United F.C. just like a stick of Black 'n' White rock!
CLiNT FLiCK has written 42 articles on this blog.
EPIC WIN! LOVED IT!