Arsenal vs Newcastle United match banter!

Posted on March 12th, 2012 | 83 Comments |

Arsenal v Newcastle United.
Gooners, back on form for their last three games.
Venue: Ashburton Grove, London.
Date: Mon 12th Mar 2012.
Kick-Off: 8pm.
Referee: Howard Webb (Man. U).

Good evening Geordies and welcome to our regular “match banter” feature.

This evening of course sees us facing the Queen’s favourite side, the “Gooners” of Arsenal. Something which my esteemed colleague, Hugh, missed out of his otherwise excellent match preview is that this evening will be Alan Pardew’s 50th Premiership game in charge of the Magpies so far, with his record so far being P 49, W 18, D 17, L 14. This means he has won 71 points from a possible 147, and has a win percentage of 36.73%, fairly solid mid table form from the Silver Supremo so far, boosted of course by an excellent unbeaten run of eleven games at the start of this season. Here’s hoping we can recapture some of that against an Arsenal side who seem to have been well and truly back in form in their last three games (including one Champion’s League game), seeing them just about holding on to their usual position in the top four, with a little help from struggling Chelsea below them in fifth.

Looking forward to this evening’s game, Newcastle United midfield maestro, Yohan Cabaye had this to say:

“This was my dream when I was young and I’ve worked very hard for that, to play in these type of games,”

“It’s a big match and I want to play in this sort of match.

“That’s why I came to the Premier League; to play against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and in big derbies, like the one against Sunderland last weekend.

“Tonight will be a big game for us, and for them as well. I hope we get a good result, a draw or a win, because for a European place it could be important to us.”

As usual, we shall be endeavour to put up the official team sheets when they become available. The game will be televised in the UK on Sky, but if any links, please feel free to post them.

Howay the lads!

Team sheets

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Arteta, Song, Rosicky, Walcott, Van Persie, Oxlade-Chamberlain

Subs: Gervinho, Benayoun, Ramsey, Fabianski, Djourou, Santos, Chamakh

Newcastle United: Krul, Simpson, Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Obertan, Cabaye, Tiote, Gutierrez, Ben Arfa, Ba.

Subs: Elliot, Perch, Cissé, Vuckic , Guthrie, Gosling , Ameobi

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83 Responses

  4. Crnt believe he starting benny. I feel a whole lot more optomistic about tonight.

    HWTL

  11. On the plus side he’s not gone 4-4-2 but what the feck is Obertan doing playing in the middle ?

  33. well we are hanging on so we need to take off squidward next half as hes is shite in attacking and defending

  36. We are not cutting down as much as we should> We should copy Everton or liverpool as they cut down so well. Squidward off, move Benny to rw and bring on guths or cisse.

  40. Passing isnt a black art practiced by only the very best but somehow I dont think Pardwho is that bothered as we always have the “hoofball” :(

  49. Obertan is a given but Cabaye ? Poor old Cheik seems to be doing it all on his own !

  52. Arsenal seem to have more energy. Somehow. Cabaye’s not looking too good tonight…

  53. Feck ! The bloke needs to bung up the midfield and he brings on Shola ? Does this look like there’s a plan ?

  55. Yes Andy there is. Bringing Shola on means we can hoof it up top. Though not hoofing it first half actually worked rather well.

  56. I’m waiting for the coup de grace from Pardwho – bringing on Cisse and going three up front >:o

  58. Just caught this on the Guardian site “Agree since his amazing performance against Man U Cabaye has just dropped off, bit a shame, hope he pulls it together, was magnificent first half of season. Shola on and not Cisse is sad, Pardew hoof-ball returns, we have been Stoke-like sometimes.”

    Ironically we’re the fourth worst team in the BPL for creating chances.

  59. Why cant we put a foot on the ball and string two passes together ? Because we’re out on our feet thats why ?

    All the commentators are saying that Newcastle have worked so hard ? WTF have we got skilful players in this side just to work hard ?

    PS Stoke are the worst team in the BPL for creating chances :)

  62. Difference between a team trying to win, and one who wasn’t. Complete suicide this 2nd half.

  63. Jimbob, they scored on the break as we we’re trying to win if you didn’t notice.

  65. Can’t say they didn’t deserve it though Maze, shame we couldn’t hold out, but keep lumping up to them just put us under too much pressure. Even the corner we took in the 86th minute we didn’t even look bothered.

  66. I’m fed up with always being on the backburner to all teams since utd. That and boring longball tactics. Pardew will never change.

  68. I’m sorry but Pardwho deserves everything thats thrown at him for this performance !

    Why pick Obertan in central midfield (presumably to play behind Ba) when he has no “football brain” ? He barely looks up and cant see a pass unless its right in front of him ?

    Why bring on Shola when we needed to shore up a midfield that was getting overrun ?

    Possession 61% to 39%
    Goal attempts 23 to 4
    On target 8 to 2

    If that was a team selected to get a win at the Emirates then I fear for the rest of his managerial career :(

  70. You gotta say, Pardew was very good tactically first half. Just keep the fcking ball. Be patient and make them fight for it. Second half adopting a 4-4-2, booting it up top was always a recipe for disaster. This hurts because the time of the goal, but in the context of the game, you can’t say they didn’t deserve it… Also, just heard Raylor wasn’t playing because of injury… Wonder if it would have been Obertan or HBA benched instead.

  71. But we didnt keep the ball JB not in the first half or the second ? If we had kept the ball to any degree then perhaps we wouldnt have been out on feet in the last twenty minutes.

    Something fundamentally wrong with a plan that keeps giving the ball to the opposition when the fecking opposition are pass masters ?????

  72. Andy we knocked it about first half. Granted not to the degree of Arsenal, but we kept it on the deck. 2nd half just toe punting it forward was just a joke, Arsenal just retained possession and probed forward.

    We looked knackered, and this is the same Arsenal team that played their bollocks off against Milan in mid-week. This is the problem with English football / English coaches of the older generation. They don’t move with the times.

    Remember the season we finished 5th, and the reason was we kept panicking when in the lead towards the end of matches and hoofing it up top only for it to come back and haunt us. Pardew is a long ball manager, he deploys this tactic every game. This is his way, and it will always be that way. Sometimes it works, but more often than not, it goes wrong, or we hold on. Just it doesn’t have to be that way at all, because we have proved we can knock it about nicely at times.

  74. Yet the majority of Toon fans think he’s doing a great job JB, how is that ?

    I agree though this “work ethic” will keep us up but it aint gonna win anything !

  75. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew:

    “A last-minute defeat is galling. Our right-back got injured and we couldn’t sub him, because we’d used all three already.

    “We really ran out of steam. The five minutes at the end didn’t help us. You couldn’t fault us for commitment and effort. We’ve had such a great season but we’re going to have days that don’t go our way.”

  76. AndyMac says: “Yet the majority of Toon fans think he’s doing a great job JB, how is that?”

    I think you’d have to quantify ‘a great job’.

  77. How the hell are we 6th playing like that? I think the PL is becoming a micky mouse league like most in europe – a decent few teams at the top and the rest just ordinary dross. And that includes Norwich – and I would not put money on us beating them cos we are in relegation form just now!

  78. Because we are 6th Andy. Our performances though since Man Utd have been poor. Pardew will continually say ‘we’ve had a good season’ after every defeat now. He is right in theory, but these performances have been from a tactical fault. Arsenal can beat anyone on their day still, it’s the games against teams like Wolves that are inexcusable.

    He seems to not get it, if 4-4-2 was the reason we failed at Spurs, then why use it, with the same tactics second half today?

    It’s just how he is and how he always has been. But I think players who get the brunt of abuse like Willo, should hold their heads up today, he especially did all he could. Just the pressure we were under could have been eased had we not tried to Stoke City the match.

  79. It will be long ball against Norwich. HBA will be replaced with Raylor in a 4-4-2, with Cisse in for Obertan. Trouble is Norwich can handle a direct team, Man Utd couldn’t.

    The most interesting game will be away to Swansea.

  82. As i expected Arsenal were by far the better side.
    We gave them a game in the early part, keeping a high defensive line and bottling them in their own half.
    HBA’s goal was something, ermmm! why has he been sitting on the bench ?
    Again i question this mans line up, though he did play HBA and Santon, but what was Obertan “the Mekon” doing on the pitch, should be clear by now he’s a guy with pace, technique, but no footballing brain.
    The equaliser was a typical Williamson screwup, with him ballwatching then going to ground, aaaaarrrrgggghhh!
    Of course the second half was a nightmare, with most fans i think, hoping we could hang on.
    The stats speak for themselves and same as every game the opposition changes their tactics, while we play the same one side, one tactical approach fits all.
    Actually we played hoofball throughout the second period, and i’m sure you know what i mean, hump it up the middle, maybe something will happen.
    Point is we got guys like HBA who scored a great goal,plus good technical players, who can play on the ground, if given the chance.
    Unfortunately we have a manager, who is tactically limited and only here because he’s a yes man.
    With a record barely above 500, 18-17-14 and the fact we are in the top ten says more about the quality of the league, than the quality of our small limited squad.
    Theres the spine of a decent team here, but apparently management is focused on selling our best players, instead of building a competitive side, with Derick all but inviting bids for them.
    Which says it all, dosh before silverware and Pardew has stated if we dont win against Arsenal, it’s all over, what kind of manager makes such a statement ?
    Look the situation is this, we got a manager that when you mention tactics and his name, it becomes an oxymoron.
    We also have some decent players, but a small squad.
    The side needs defensive help and hopefully players with a bit of pace,because to-night we were as slow as molasses.
    Both Cisse and Ba are wasted up front tactically,they should have support from HBA and Marveaux, guys that can feed them, but not hoof it in the air, like some nineteen fifties side.
    The bottom line is untill we get rid of Pardew this club is going nowhere.

  83. “As i expected Arsenal were by far the better side.
    We gave them a game in the early part, keeping a high defensive line and bottling them in their own half.
    HBA’s goal was something, ermmm! why has he been sitting on the bench ?……………………….The bottom line is untill we get rid of Pardew this club is going nowhere”

    Funny, I dont remember writing that ? :lol: