In the piece I ask if they are now in danger of losing their momentum after their first march almost a month ago, which made more of an impact than they might have imagined due to Mike Ashley’s childish and ludicrous overreaction to their little stroll through Newcastle before the game with Liverpool on 19th October.
‘Iron’ Mike: A defensive colossus?Despite the heroics of Tim Krul on Saturday, as well as those of other more ‘glamorous’ Newcastle United players such as Loic Remy, Yohan Cabaye etc throughout the season, if we look at the results both before and after he came into the team, it could be argued that Newcastle United’s most important player this season so far has been Mike Williamson.
After a couple of outings in the League Cup against Morecambe and Leeds, ‘Iron’ Mike was finally introduced to the club’s Premier League campaign as a half time substitute (for Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa) against Everton. This was after another disastrous first half display by the Magpie defence against Everton, with the club already 3-0 down. That was 5 1/2 games into the season and as Newcastle United have now played 11, with Williamson on the pitch for exactly the same time as he has been off it in Premier League games, I thought it would be a good time to look at the staistics for Newcastle United with and without Williamson.
The difference has been obvious watching the games with a transformed back four. Even in that Everton game alone, the bleeding was staunched immediately with Newcastle keeping a clean sheet in the second half, giving them a platform to go on and stage a comeback with two goals, though, alas, it wasn’t quite enough on that occasion. (more…)
NUFC Blog on metro.co.ukMy latest piece on metro.co.uk was published earlier today.
Called ‘Tim Krul – the best performance by any goalkeeper this season?,’ it is my usual look back over the week-end’s game on my other Newcastle United blog. As the title suggests, it is mostly about Tim Krul’s performance in goal on Sunday, which pretty much overshdowed everything else.
Krul’s fourteen saves in one saw the Flying Dutchman breaking the OPTA’s record since they began collecting Premier League stats back in the 2006-7 season.
You can read the story by following the link below.
Can we beat two London giants in a row?Venue: White Hart Lane, London. Date: Sun 9th Nov, 2013. Kick off: 12.00 noon. Referee: Chris Foy. UK TV: Sky Sports 1.
Welcome to our regular ‘match banter’ feature for todays early kick-off against Tottenham.
To be honest, I’m running a bit late for this one so I won’t beat about the bush. There isn’t much to say that I haven’t written already in my extensive match preview for this game anyway. You can find all the pre match team news, form guide, interviews with the managers and lots of other stuff there.
Secondly, there are all my usual reminders that I will posting all the team sheets and links to watch the game online any second now, as well as match highlights and a video to watch the whole game when it’s all over for those of you who can’t watch it live so stay tuned. I’d better get on with that now! (more…)
Will the Cockerels get a good stuffing?Venue: St James’ Park, Newcastle. Date: Sun 9th Nov, 2013. Kick off: 12.00 noon. Referee: Chris Foy. UK TV: Sky Sports 1.
Well this one will certainly test the commitment of our away fans.
A 12.00 noon kick off down in the big smoke should see a couple of thousand Geordies or so waking up to pitch darkness with a long dawn trek before them. Something which isn’t an issue for myself as being a Geordie in North London, Arsenal’s stadium is but a leisurely walk away and White Hart Lane a mere tube or mini-cab ride away.
Of course, the Magpies will probably go into this one with more confidence than usual, having just beaten another London giant 2-0. but can they repeat that performance away from home?
Well it could be very difficult. Although Tottenham have a derisory amount of goals for a team who are currently fourth in table (only 9 in 10 games), the other side is that they have been as tight as a gnat’s chuff at the back, only letting in 5 goals. This is the second lowest in the Premier League behind Southampton’s even more miserly 4 goals conceeded. In their 17 games in all competitions this season, they have kept 13 clean sheets. Hence, they could be VERY tough to break down and unlike Chelsea they will also have home advantage of course.
